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.]

Seth Mnookin's The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear is a high-profile book with equally high-profile positive reviews, but his impending West Coast book tour is entirely self-organized. That means Mr. Mnookin is coming here to fight and expose vaccine myths -- and help protect the health of all of our children -- on his own dime.

We, as his supporters, his teammates, his fellow skeptical humanitarians, can and should help out with the funding for this tour. Especially those of us who have long itched to take take instant and effective action against vaccine misinformation. Or those of us writers who may launch our own self-organized book tours in the near future -- we can consider our donations an investment in karma.

The amount Mr. Mnookin said (when pressed, he was hesitant to ask for support) would help is modest -- less than $800 total -- but it will make all the difference for his self-organized tour model. If you can donate even $10 or $20, and/or vigorously email, Facebook, or tweet either the URL for this post or for The Panic Virus West Coast Tour ChipIn campaign page, I think our small-scale fundraiser will succeed.

If you need a final nudge, read Mr. Mnookin's compelling interview on The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. Then you'll see what kind of gift you'll be giving those who attend his West Coast appearances. And thank you.

Appearances (from The Panic Virus website):

• [Monday] March 7, Walnut Creek, CA 12:30pm
  Grand rounds discussion, Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center.
• March 7, Palo Alto, CA 5:30pm
  “Medical Authority and Citizen Scientists in the Vaccine Debate.” Discussion and book signing. Munzer Auditorium, Beckman Center, Stanford University, 279 Campus Ave., Stanford, CA. Sponsored by the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. Free and open to the public.
• [Tuesday] March 8, San Francisco, CA 4pm
  Discussion and book signing, Robert W. Mahley Auditorium, Gladstone Institute of Immunology and Virology, University of California-San Francisco, 1650 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA. Free and open to the public.
• March 8, San Francisco, CA 7pm
  Science Café discussion, Q/A, and book signing. The Atlas Café, 3049 20th St (at Alabama St.). Free and open to the public.