Join Me in Busting Vaccine-Autism Myths

Update 7/12: Here is the full transcript of my talk, with links to the Storify Twitter Chat and an audio recording of the entire event.

In less than 24 hours, I'll be the primary discussant in a Voices for Vaccines Conference Call and Twitter Chat about vaccines and autism. We'll be busting those vaccine-autism myths of course, but will also discuss how to be a vaccine advocate without inadvertently steamrolling autistic people like my son.

Parents should be afraid of deadly diseases, not autism. Autistic people have always been here (and they deserve to be vaccinated, too). But because of media-generated misinformation and outright hoaxes, some people still believe, wrongly, that autism is a vaccine injury -- despite landslides of evidence to the contrary. We need to fine-tune our advocacy efforts to reach such folks using facts, understanding, and compassion. I know those efforts can work, because they worked with me.

The conference call is at 9 AM Pacific/noon Eastern tomorrow, July 11th. It's free, but you do have to register. I'll be talking for about 25 minutes, then we'll do a Q&A. You can also join the conversation on Twitter at #VFVcall. Here's the event info:

To register for this conference call, you must email info@voicesforvaccines.org.

Like many people, you may not know much about autism, and may not know what to say to someone who wants to talk about autism in a conversation about immunization. You might worry that you will say something to offend or hurt autistic people and their families -- but you don't have to feel that way.

Please join us on Friday, July 11 at noon EDT (9 am Pacific) for a very important discussion with Shannon Des Roches Rosa. She will share what she has learned from autistic people and their families, including what they have taught her about neurodiversity and what they want you to know about autism.

Shannon Des Roches Rosa is an author and an outspoken advocate for neurodiversity who writes at her Squidalicious blog, is a contributing editor at BlogHer, and is a co-founder and senior editor of The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. She has been published widely online and in print.

If you can't make the call, you can still educate yourself about autism and vaccines, with the articles on my Vaccines and Autism Pinterest page (and that should tell you how invested I am -- I made a damn Pinterest page).

Hope to hear from/chat with you tomorrow!

One healthy, fully vaccinated autistic dude.
[Image description: young man with beige skin and short curly brown hair,
wearing a turquoise tee and red shorts*, standing in front of
a low light gray cinder block wall upon which "life is good" is graffitied.]