Autism and Vaccination: Examining the Connection 

Thank you for visiting the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website to learn more about the association between autism and vaccinations.  If you have a child that is experiencing a problem we hope this information will help you learn more so you are better able to help your child recover. We understand the challenges you face because many of us at NVIC are parents of vaccine-injured children. We want to help you in any way we can. 

NVIC president, Barbara Loe Fisher began looking at the connection between autism and vaccination while writing the book A Shot in the Dark in 1985. In the course of her research she found many families who reported the onset of autism following a reaction to the DPT vaccine. 

In 1990, NVIC was contacted by California mother, Cindy Goldenberg, who explained how her bright healthy son became autistic following his MMR vaccine. Following many visits to different doctors in her attempt to find out what had happened to her son, multiple tests were performed on his immune system. Her son showed a high antibody count to rubella vaccine. 

With this knowledge in hand, Cindy along with immunologist, Dr. Sudhir Gupta, put together a regimen of treatments that healed her son. 

If you suspect that your child’s autism or PDD is related to a vaccine, it is very important that you make a vaccine adverse event report to NVIC. 

Since 1982, NVIC has operated a vaccine adverse event database and gathered information about vaccine reactions. A record of what happened to your child could be used to help discover why some children have a problem following vaccination and some do not. (Report a reaction)  

A report should also be made to the federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). The law requires doctor’s to report any serious problem within 30 days following vaccination. If your doctor refuses to report, NVIC can provide the forms for you to report the reaction yourself. 

Happily, Cindy and her family have moved on and their son is on grade level in a regular class room. 

We hope you will become a member of the National Vaccine Information Center and help support our efforts to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education. Please keep in touch with us and let us know if you have questions or need more information.