Autism - Vaccination Connection?

Yesterday I shared Dylan's story on my other blog in honor of Autism Awareness month.  I had several emails from parents, educators and grandparents asking if I thought vaccinations were connected to his condition.  I thought I would share my reply here:

I don't like to be anti-vaccine.  I am a nurse and I know they are important.  I do think if I had it to do over again, I would not vaccinate until after age five and then only one every few months instead of getting 2-5 at a time.  So I support a safer vaccination schedule.  Here is the evidence from what I have experienced:

1. My son had testing that shows extremely high mercury levels in his body and that heavy metal detoxification have increased his speech ability and his awareness of his environment.
2. Symptoms of mercury poisoning are very similar to autism symptoms.  
3.  None of my other four children or anyone else in my family have any signs of mercury poisoning.  I believe he had a genetic predisposition combined with an environmental trigger.
4. Recently a family won a lawsuit proving that vaccinations resulted in their childs autism.  The child had an undiagnosed pre-existing condition that was aggravated by the preservatives in vaccinations: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20015982-10391695.html Makes me worry how many other kids have a similar pre-existing condition that would have the same effect. 
5. The CDC in their own words admits that thimerosal (mercury) is still in vaccinations http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/thimerosal.htm (read where it says "is thimerosal used in other vaccinations?") and you'll see this statement  

"Since 2001, no new vaccine licensed by FDA for use in children has contained thimerosal as a preservative, and all vaccines routinely recommended by CDC for children younger than 6 years of age have been thimerosal–free, or contain only trace amounts of thimerosal, except for multi–dose formulations of influenza vaccine."

• The media gets it wrong.  They did NOT stop putting thimerosal in vaccinations.  They stopped adding it to new vaccines that they have added to the required list of vaccinations.
• Only trace amounts of thimerosal...the amount they add is so small that it has been shown not to adversely affect typically developing children.  Consideration is not given for children who may have a pre-existing weakness or inability to remove toxins from their body.  When autistic children get toxicity testing, it almost always shows very high levels of toxins which seems to indicate that they have a much harder time getting rid of environmental toxins than a healthy individual.  So it is important not to pump them full of "trace amounts" of a known neurotoxin like mercury.
• Flu shots are almost always multi-dose.  That means the nurse draws them up into the syringe herself rather than having them in individual doses all ready to go.  The multi-dose flu shot contains the highest levels of mercury, and pregnant women and children should never get it!  But if you want the flu shot, you can request a thimerosal free (single dose) version.

Here's the question: would a DIFFERENT environmental toxin have inevitably triggered his autism if he had not been vaccinated?  We have toxins in the air, in cleaning products, construction materials in our home, paints we use, plastics, and even in our food.  So I don't know if a child who is genetically predisposed to autism but doesn't get vaccinated would avoid the toxic overload which appears to trigger the onset of the condition.  Some maybe would still get it, others would not.

But as a mom, I would certainly not have risked it if I had all the information.  No reason to.  Better to be safe and insist on a safe vaccination schedule.  The neurological connections in our brains are mostly all formed before we turn 5 years old.  So in bombarding these little bodies with toxins at such a young age, we are taking a huge risk during such an important developmental time.  If I had another baby I would not vaccinate until after age five so I knew the brain development was well underway and had less chance of being disrupted by toxins if he/she had a pre-existing condition.

Just one moms opinion.