What an interesting week it has been with regards to autism news. The week started off with mass reporting of a new study confirming the fact that there is no statistical link between the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccination and autism. Yes, another study detailing this lack of a link. Here are a few different blog entries discussing the study that I found interesting:
New Study Confirms No Link Between MMR and Autism at Autism News Direct
Surprise Surprise: No link between the MMR and Autism at Autism Vox
MMR Still Doesn’t Cause Autism (and never did) at Left Brain/Right Brain
My daughter has had one dose of the MMR vaccine – she received it after her autism diagnosis. She also had a nasty local reaction with a huge knot in her leg that didn’t go away for nearly six months. About a year after she received the innoculation, we found out she was allergic to eggs – ah hah!
Now on to the other study of the week, Vanderbilt University revealed the results of their research study looking at the benefit of melatonin usage to help children with sleep problems who are also on the autism spectrum. Melatonin is a mainstay in our house and we use it almost nightly. From the study:
“Twenty-five percent of parents reported they no longer had sleep concerns after using melatonin, 60 percent of parents reported the sleep problems had improved, 13 percent still had major concerns and only 1 percent (one child) had worse symptoms.”
My son falls into the 60 percent of children who have seen an improvement in sleep. My daughter falls into the 25 percent of children who no longer have sleep issues. Sure every now and then she has a sleepless night but between the melatonin and the weighted blanket, I think we’ve found the solution for her sleep problem. Our pediatrician is one of the more progressive-thinking doctors in the area and suggested melatonin to us over a year ago. Go Dr. L!
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- The Autism Puzzle by Saskia Baron
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I remember having a horrible reaction to the MMR shot when I was about 5. I went home after the shot and took a nap and woke up not being able to move my legs. I crawled to the steps and creamed for my mom who then took me back to the doctor. He explained to her that there was something in the shot that could cause allergic reactions but we never made a connection…When I was 19 I had allergy tests done and found out I was allergic to eggs. Interesting?
We use clonidine for my son’s sleep issues because melatonin stopped working but it did work for a while.
Yikes that does sound like a horrible reaction, and to remember it so vividly! It’s good to hear of another child who takes clonidine. We’ve been talking about it for the last six months or so and finally the sleep got so bad we gave in, it’s been a nice two weeks for my son.
We LOVE clonidine. There are still nights that are disrupted but overall he sleeps.
There must be something going on with the vaccines…
Just found this movie online about autism/vaccines:
http://www.wakingupbaxter.com
I just can’t believe that they didn’t find a relation between the vaccines… I just hear a lot of awful stories!
My granddaughter has aspergers and ADHD. As soon as we learned that melatonin levels in children on the spectrum, was lower, we went with “sleep in the dark”. (We also learned that sleeping with light, blocks the production of melatonin.) Oh, the change was no easy task but well worth it. We slowly reduced the wattage of her light bulbs, put her light on a timer and then switched over to a night light. The night light has been switched out now for a “blue” light (red works also). We then ot “black-out” shades for her windows to keep outside light…out. She’s sleeping much better.
Does anyone know the correct dosage of melatonin for a 3 year old pdd autistic boy?
Thanks.
http://www.babywonderland.com
Melatonin dosage varies by child as opposed to by weight/age. My 7 year old took a smaller dose than his 4 year old sister. I would start with the smallest dose possible – a lot of people will find the 500mcg chewables and then cut it in fourths.
Now for the CYA note – I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice, definitely check with your child’s pediatrician.
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