We asked, ”What’s one piece of misinformation you wish would go away?” and y’all had a lot to say!
As part of our Together Against Misinformation campaign, we will be rolling out clear and concise debunks to some of the most persistent myths that frustrate you. Starting with one myth we all wish would go away: Vaccine causes autism.
This sticky myth stems from a fraudulent paper published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and 11 other authors in 1998. The authors, who claimed to have found a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, had demonstrably falsified their data and hand-picked their sample of 12 children rather than randomizing it.. They also failed to disclose that they were funded by lawyers who had been engaged by parents in lawsuits against vaccine-producing companies.
As a result, 10 of the 12 original authors of the paper have retracted its interpretation as well as the journal that had published the fraudulent paper. Since then, millions of dollars and years of research have shown no link between vaccines and ASD.
Want to learn more about the campaign and how you could participate? Visit TogetherAgainstMisinformation.com
To learn more:
Autism and Vaccines: Read the Science
If you are interested in learning more about ASD, check this out →
To start – Welcome to the Autistic Community
- Autism Spectrum Disorder | American Psychiatric Association
- What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder? | American Psychiatric Association
- Autism Diagnosis Criteria: DSM-5 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Myths & Facts about Autism Spectrum Disorder | Kennedy Krieger Institute
- About Autism | Autism Ontario
- Race and Sex Bias in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) and Disparities in Autism Diagnoses | JAMA Network on PubMed Central | April 2022
- What About the Girls? Sex-Based Differences in Autistic Traits and Adaptive Skills | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders on PubMed Central | May 2019
- What Is the Male-to-Female Ratio in Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on PubMed | June 2017
- Exploring the potential for social networking among people with autism: challenging dominant ideas of ‘friendship’ | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research | 2015
- The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud | Indian Journal of Psychiatry on PubMed Central | June 2011
- Vaccine Safety: Examine the Evidence | HealthyChildren.org
- Timeline: Thimerosal in Vaccines (1999-2010) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Autism genetics – an overview | Prenatal Diagnosis | 2017
- Autism presentation in female and Black populations: Examining the roles of identity, theory, and systemic inequalities | Autism on Sage Journals | July 2023
- Ethical challenges in autism genomics: Recommendations for researchers | European Journal of Medical Genetics | 2023
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As part of the Together Against Misinformation campaign, we will be rolling out clear and concise debunks to some of the most persistent myths that frustrate you.
— ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord (@ScienceUpFirst) September 20, 2024
Starting with one myth we all wish would go away: Vaccines cause autism 👇https://t.co/YpjlzrsHf3#ScienceUpFirst pic.twitter.com/XJ5rzojKhu
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