Introduction
Autism is a disorder that is typified by impairment in social interactions (Smith, 2002). The disorder hinders the process of analyzing information in the brain and interfering with the working of nerve cells. The condition is one of the known disorders in of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) (Smith, 2002). The problem is evident in both verbal and non-verbal communications. The method of diagnosing expects that clinical symptoms should be perceptible before the child is three years (Smith, 2002).
It is critical to indicate that one 2 out of 136 children have shown clinical signs of autism. This is in line with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that carried out an investigation in 2000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). It is evident that these numbers have increased drastically since 1980s. Many researchers have disagreed on what causes autism because there are no concrete findings showing the causes of the condition.
Despite the fact that many scholars have done many studies to investigate the issue, it still remains a puzzle (Ruscio, 2005). Due to high cases of autism, there is a need to investigate what causes it in order to come up with measures to prevent the disorder. This would cost both the individuals and the nations less compared with treating it. In this view, where many children are developing this social disorder, it is important that we concentrate on investigating the issue.
This will enable citizens to focus on ways of handling the problem to protect their children from the disorder. The disorder is associated with genetic factors, although they are difficult to explain (Ruscio, 2005). The argument with regard to vaccine as a cause has been disapproved many by scholars, each providing different findings about the condition (Appleton, Pitelka, Henry & Beier, 2007).
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However, many studies seem to link its cause with a vaccine, but there are other scholars who have strongly disagreed. This is the case, particularly with Seneff, Davidson and Liu (2012) who contend that the presence of aluminun in a vaccine is likely to cause the condition, especially in children who have not attained 3 years.
Although the researchers’ information is based on the third party’s study, they have produced a reliable evidence and information for the reason that it is characterized by many data sources, making it useful (Seneff et al., 2012). It is clear that their information has been carefully evaluated to give more insights on the causes of autism.
However, the researchers’ evidence is questionable because they have not provided concrete evidence regarding the causes of the condition, but relies on the findings of other researchers, making it a correlative study. In addition, there is no justification of vaccine as the cause of autism.
It is important to state that Rimland and McGinnis (2002) presented many studied that indicated how thimerosal in vaccine impacts negatively on children who have shown autism symptoms. According to them, there is a likelihood of Multiple Magic Resistance Injury, which is attributed to exposure of Thimerosal immunization (Rimland & McGinnis, 2002). From their study, the findings demonstrate that the presence of thimerosal is one of the causes of the disorder (Rimland & McGinnis, 2002).
However, their findings should form the basis for further studies because it does not guarantee that vaccination leads to autism. This can be clearly seen in their language, whereby they use probability terms, such as may and could. As a result, it becomes hard to make a conclusion based on these findings result. Notably, their research data are empirical due to the utilization of various scientific methods in data analysis. Nonetheless, they suggest that there are other factors that can cause autism other than vaccines.
This study is supported by Young, Geier and Geier (2008) who outlined evidence that had been gathered through computerized medical records. According to the report, long exposure to thimerosal is among the causes of neurodevelopmental conditions. The researchers utilized data from a study that was conducted on children who were 7 and 13 months old (Young et al., 2008). These kids demonstrated clinical symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and other diseases.
Although the researchers employed data that had been collected through modern technology, the rest of their work had used empirical methods, as it is evident by the application of charts, percentages, materials, methods, and results. In addition, logical inferences that the scholars present make it reliable and provide a basis for making a conclusion.
The acknowledgment of limitation in the study makes it acceptable, despite the fact that the researchers did not indicate the exact amount of thimerosal, or a vaccine that contains thimerosal causes the condition. The scholars indicate clearly that the rate of these disorders increases in cases where children are exposed to vaccines.
Despite the many studies that demonstrate that autism is caused by vaccines, many researchers have found out that it is not associated with vaccines. For example, Miller and Reynolds (2009) conducted a study to investigate whether autism is caused by vaccines. In the many studies that they carried out, they argued that there is no relationship between autism and vaccine (Miller& Reynolds, 2009). In the research, the researchers incorporated data that were omitted by others as they made their conclusion.
To verify their findings, they demonstrated how some of the earlier researchers could have misinterpreted their findings. Notably, the evidence that is used in this research is derived from other studies, but not researchers’ own investigations. It is evident from the study that the authors relied on other studies that had been conducted. This implies that their conclusion is invalid due to the fact that they used inductive reasoning, which does not provide any logical fact with regard to the issue.
The authors are concerned with factors that show that there is no connection between the disorder and the vaccine, without providing results that demonstrate there could be a relationship between autism and vaccines. However, it is important to recognize that the researchers’ study is characterized by many dependent and independent variables. Moreover, the authors have provided hypothesis and the results using different studies that had investigated the condition.
It is imperative to state that they have used many studies that have indicated that there is no relationship between autism and vaccination regarding the causes. It is arguable that the researchers did not provide any research that has been conducted by any author, but concentrated on discussing the findings of studies, rendering their study unreliable (Miller & Reynolds, (2009).
Many scholars have concentrated on investigating the reliability of research explanations, such as single-bullet explanation and empirical reliability. In a study conducted by Bearman (2010), the researcher focused on investigating how the application of bullets has been misinterpreted. According to Bearman (2010), there is no link between neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and vaccines.
However, the researcher contends that there are no studies that have been carried out that disapprove vaccines as causes of autism. The researcher indicates how single-bullet explanations can mislead, rendering a study unreliable (Bearman, 2010). Notably, there are no empirical methods of data collection and data analysis that have been utilized.
The accurate recognition and sizing of CTG is an important aspect in clinical testing and examination (Appleton et al., 2007). This is for the reason that the number of repetitions of CTG indicates the severity of the disease. It is an important scientific method because it promotes effective amplification, facilitating the diagnosing of the disease (Appleton et al., 2007). The method is vital, especially when determining the genetic factors as causes of particular diseases.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident from the studies that have been conducted in the above-discussed articles that there is no connection between vaccine and autism. This is the case due to the fact that most of the evidence from the studies disagree that vaccines cause autism. It is important to note that most of the studies conducted indicated that evidence that was used by researchers were carried out by third persons.
Failure of the researchers to agree has made autism a challenge in many nations across the world. For example, in the United States of America the number of children with autism is expected to increase by 30% by the end of 2014. Despite the fact that studies have indicated that there is no link between autism and the vaccine, there is an urgent need to conduct many studied in order to investigate the cause.
References
Appleton, C. T. G., Pitelka, V., Henry, J., & Beier, F. (2007). Global analyses of gene expression in early experimental osteoarthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 56(6), 1854-1868.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Autism Spectrum Disorders: Risk factors for autism disorder. Web.
Bearman, P. (2010). Just so Stories Vaccines, Autism, and the Single-bullet Disorder. Social psychology quarterly, 73(2), 112-115.
Miller, L., & Reynolds, J. (2009). Autism and vaccination—the current evidence. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 14(3), 166-172.
Rimland, B., & McGinnis, W. (2002). Vaccines and autism. Lab Med, 33, 708-716.
Ruscio, J. (2005). Critical Thinking in Psychology: Separating Sense from Nonsense (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Seneff, S., Davidson, R. M., & Liu, J. (2012). Empirical data confirm autism symptoms related to aluminum and acetaminophen exposure. Entropy, 14(11), 2227-2253.
Smith, R. A. (2002). Challenging your preconceptions: Thinking critically about psychology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Young, H. A., Geier, D. A., & Geier, M. R. (2008). Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: an assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink. Journal of the neurological sciences, 271(1), 110-118.