There are a lot of myths about the Amish.
From the idea that they don’t vaccinate their kids to that there are no autistic Amish.
Of course, none of them are true.
Amish Myths about Vaccines
While many Amish don’t vaccinate according to the recommended CDC schedule and get all vaccines, many do get some of them. For example, when a large measles outbreak went through Amish communities in Ohio, they got in line to get vaccinated and stop the outbreaks.
And there are autistic Amish, despite what folks like Dan Olmsted and Sharyl Attkisson would like you to believe.
Autism News Beat reported on a conversation with a doctor from the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg:
“The idea that the Amish do not vaccinate their children is untrue,” says Dr. Kevin Strauss, MD, a pediatrician at the CSC.
“We run a weekly vaccination clinic and it’s very busy.”
He says Amish vaccinations rates are lower than the general population’s, but younger Amish are more likely to be vaccinated than older generations.
Strauss also sees plenty of Amish children showing symptoms of autism.
“Autism isn’t a diagnosis – it’s a description of behavior. We see autistic behaviors along with seizure disorders or mental retardation or a genetic disorder, where the autism is part of a more complicated clinical spectrum.”
Fragile X syndrome and Rett Syndrome is also common among the clinic’s patients.
More on Amish Myths about Vaccines
- Religious Exemptions to Vaccination
- Obstetric Tetanus Is Still a Thing in the United States
- If It’s Vaccines, Then Why Are There Autistic Kids Who Are Unvaccinated?
- Explaining the Correlation of Autism After Vaccines
- How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Hurts Autistic Families
- Anecdotal Amish-don’t-vaccinate claims disproved by fact-based study
- Prevalence Rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders Among the Old Order Amish
- Autism amongst the Amish
- Autism and the Amish
- How To Seek and Not Find