The Autism Vaccine

by Forrest Maready

In the late 1800s, a new disease arrived in North America from Europe and began to claim the lives of children everywhere. Though most today have never even heard of this illness, it would routinely kill over ten thousand children in a single year—more than the polio might take in an entire decade. After much trial and tribulation, a shot was developed that helped both those already afflicted with the illness, and those who might one day become infected. But the shot was dangerous, and many parents refused it for their children.In 1932, a safer version of the shot was developed, but contained a new ingredient never before tried on humans. Due to aggressive immunization campaigns, children all over the country began to receive this shot. Within a year, a new mental disorder—unknown to even the most knowledgeable child psychologists in the country—began to appear. It affected toddlers, and mostly boys. Children were losing the ability to speak and would take little interest in any other humans—even their parents.The Autism Vaccine chronicles the story of two of these children—one known throughout the world, the other completely unknown until recently—and why modern medicine’s attempts to explain what happened to them have so far come up short.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Parenting

Paperback

Published May 1, 2010

About the author

After graduating from Wake Forest University with a degree in Religion and Music, Maready plied his trade in the film industry for several years, working on several Muppet movies, four seasons of Dawson’s Creek, and many other films and television shows as an audio engineer, editor, composer, and animator. He transitioned into technology as a designer and developer for visual effects software and CTO at NextGlass (now called Untappd). While at NextGlass, he helped develop machine learning software to wrangle the gigabytes of data being generated from their mass spectrometer and liquid chemical analyzers.

Creator of the popular “My Incredible Opinion” and “VaxBaby” video series, he has spent the last few years researching and writing about some of the most enigmatic riddles of science and medicine, notably autism and polio. Forrest has spoken at events and conferences around the country but prefers to stay close to his writing home in the cab of a 1992 F-150, where many of his manuscripts were composed. He lives with his wife and son in Wilmington, N.C. and enjoys tennis, piano, and competitive shooting.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the promise of Mendel’s discoveries, autism was not playing by the rules. There were no autistic mothers or fathers filling the asylums or mental institutions across the United States or Austria, eugenic fugitives from sterilization programs meant to prevent their having any offspring. There were only the children, and no one had a clue as to why.

Forrest Maready's most recent book, The Autism Vaccine, is a fascinating look at the history of aluminum use in pediatric vaccines and the parallel rise in autism diagnoses. Focusing on two individuals--Donald Triplett and Émilie Dionne (of the Dionne quintuplets), Maready paints a fascinating picture of the rise of one of today's most confounding conditions, making the case that most of the autism we're seeing today is the result of damage to a specific part of the brain.

Heavily referenced with footnotes and relevant studies, the book covers the history of aluminum use in the diphtheria vaccine, the mechanism by which aluminum may play a role in toxic brain injury, and the current aluminum-laden vaccine schedule (and how it came to be that way), as well as autism-specific information regarding possible triggers for the condition (immune-system signalling from the brain during trauma and maternal immune activation) and fascinating facts about symmetry in the brain and lymphatic systems which might explain how and why autism happens in certain cases (and how the type of autism may differ based on the location of injury).

As with the other books I've read by the author, I did notice quite a bit of speculation on his part. However, he clearly states when the information he's presenting is simply a hypothesis. The facts are likewise clearly stated, with sources.

The unfortunate title was likely chosen to grab attention. It has certainly done so, as evidenced by the petition that sprang up when the book was merely announced, calling on Amazon to ban it from their catalogue. Obviously, the petition didn't work, and people still have a chance to read this fascinating book for themselves. It's my hope that people will read it and open their minds about this subject. It's one thing to want to protect children from infectious diseases. But we need to be careful that we aren't harming them in other ways in trying to achieve that goal. As Maready points out, even those with the best of intentions can cause harm. Continuing to turn away from the research about aluminum because its conclusions scare us isn't the way to help public health; only by having a transparent, honest discussion about risks (true risks, not ones fed to the public to ensure financial stability for a mega-industry) are we ever going to regain the health that children deserve. Startlingly, as Maready points out, it could take generations due to the damage that's already been caused.

But we have to start somewhere.

[Dak · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is completely unqualified in every way to write a book about the causes of autism. This book in particular pushes a discredited notion that aluminum adjuvant in vaccines cause autism, despite no correlation between aluminum presence or absence in vaccines, not getting vaccinated, getting vaccinated, or the phases of the moon...and autism.

What this book is good for is for frightening parents, who want to protect their children or who want a bogeyman to blame for their child's autism.
Leaping to a conclusion is easy if you don't have to prove it. Like Wakefield, Macready advances a bad hypothesis in order to sell something. In this case, it's this execrable book, which he is still promoting as "New," despite the fact that it was published 10 years ago and discredited.

Avoid at all costs.

[Tamra O'Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-Researched. Do not miss!

Parents, you are your child's only defense.

I highly recommend this book, particularly if the title enrages you. If you are a medical professional, what are you doing about the obvious dangers on injecting metals into developing humans? If you are a parent, wanting to force others to inject their children to protect yours, no one is willing to light their own child on fire, no matter who it could save - and the answer is that it wouldn't save anyone.

If you are the manufacturer, the doctor or nurse, the health department, Senator Pan, or other leaders bringing about legislation or working to force unwanted medical procedures, history will not be kind to you and you should pray the awakening of the parents doesn't come when you are still visibly leading the charge. What recompense will the masses call for when they realize what you have done?

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a great job of presenting a complex topic in a clear and easy to follow manner. It covers disease history, vaccine history, and scientific research in easy to digest 2-3 page chapters. If you have any questions on the topic, I urge you to get a copy and read the information for yourself.

[Kaitee Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative. The title is misleading. A great book for all parents, regardless of stance on modern medicine.

[T. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting historical account of the introduction of aluminium into vaccines and the rise of autism. Some may ignore the link, others may see it as obvious, and unfortunately many parents experience the sudden change in their children's behaviour and the diagnosis first hand.
Since science doesn't want to examine this link and becomes defensive every time vaccines' ingredients are questioned, but also cannot offer any logical and viable explanation of the appearance and such a dramatic increase in autism (despite the millions it is received to blame the genes and still it cannot blame the genes...) this book explores why, how and when aluminium in vaccines might be causing autism and other similar neurological disorders.
I highly suggest this book to parents and also the Moth in the Iron lung; the health of our children is the most valuable treasure, knowing both sides of the argument and deciding by using evidence and critical thinking can only benefit our children.

[Sherry Christensen]

Brave to say the obvious...

After all I've studied about the historical development and use of vaccines in the general American public, this book sharpens my focus onto the ever growing condition we call autism...and it's in our children, those who get a plethora of shots, and not being diagnosed later in life when adults. Shouldn't that alone wake us up to ask, 'what are we doing with our kids that's letting this happen?!'
I particularly appreciated the time line approach the author used.
Now remains, who can/will stand against powers that be, to save our children?

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that we have been injecting children with aluminum in vaccines for nearly one hundred years? The diagnosis of autism was first named and appeared at the same time. The vaccine makers figured that since it was such a tiny amount, it wouldn't matter. It turns out that aluminum in any amount is toxic when injected, and small amounts are actually worse because they can sneak undetected into the brain and do horrendous damage. This historical account of aluminum in vaccines makes an air-tight case for aluminum as the main cause of autism. It is so horrifying to know that the medical profession used to regularly give toxic arsenic and mercury as "cures" without any concern for their extreme toxicity, and so it is with aluminum in vaccines. We are still doing medical treatments without one thought of harm from the treatments themselves. It is time to quit playing God when we know so little about the human body.

[Dian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It breaks my heart to see the before and after’s of autistic kids. Merely saying ‘we are better at diagnosing’ is gaslighting to the public and to the broken moms.

This really struck me from the last chapter: “It [end autism by removing vaccines] will never happen when fear is so effectively employed to manipulate the ignorant into compliance. It will only happen once the majority of people have re-learned how to think for themselves and are forced to rely upon themselves rather than the empty promises of governmen officials.” This applies to every aspect of life.

Wake up.

[Kristy Hetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history on the development of vaccines.