“The Day Ahead” explores how technology developments and the use of social media create new ways for adults with autism to connect and build relationships.

Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism

My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD
foreword by Arthur L. Caplan

In 1994, Peter Hotez’s nineteen-month-old daughter, Rachel, was diagnosed with autism. Dr. Hotez, a pediatrician-scientist who develops vaccines for neglected tropical diseases affecting the world’s poorest people, became troubled by the decades-long rise of the influential anti-vaccine community and their inescapable narrative around childhood vaccines and autism. The alleged link between the two was first espoused in a fraudulent scientific paper, long since retracted, but the story shows no signs of letting up. As a result, we’ve seen deadly and disabling outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases around the country, and Texas, where Hotez lives, is at particular risk.

In Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism, Hotez draws on his experiences as a pediatrician, vaccine scientist, and father of an autistic child. Outlining the arguments on both sides of the debate, he examines the science that refutes the concerns of the anti-vaccine movement, debunks current conspiracy theories alleging a cover-up by the CDC, and critiques the scientific community’s failure to effectively communicate the facts about vaccines and autism to the general public, all while sharing his very personal story of raising a now-adult daughter with autism.

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In the U.S., 500,000 teens with autism will become adults over the next decade. With the increase in prevalence of autism spectrum disorder comes an increased demand for jobs for the autism community … but few companies are equipped to hire and work with autistic employees.

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