Amish anomaly

The Amish anomaly refers to claims of unusually low rates of autism spectrum disorders among the Amish, which originate primarily from columns by Dan Olmsted for United Press International. In these columns, Olmsted asserted that he could only find three Amish autistics after searching in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and that two of them were vaccinated. In general, those who point to this anomaly do so in an attempt to prove that since the Amish vaccinate much less often than most Americans, and get autism far more infrequently, that this is evidence that vaccines cause autism.

Background

In his columns, Olmsted quoted Dr. Frank Noonan as saying, "You'll find all the other stuff, but we don't find the autism. We're right in the heart of Amish country and seeing none, and that's just the way it is." However, it has been noted by Ken Reibel, of the blog Autism News Beat, that in fact, clinics exist in Amish communities for the purpose of treating autistic children, such as the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. In addition, Reibel noted that, "The idea that the Amish do not vaccinate their children is untrue,” according to Dr. Kevin Strauss, MD, a pediatrician at the CSC. In addition, when contacted by Reibel, Strauss also said that Olmsted never visited the CSC, and that he didn't think Olmsted spent much time in Lancaster County. Further criticism of Olmsted's reporting comes from David N. Brown, who notes that Dr. Noonan is a practitioner of alternative medicine and may therefore be biased. In addition, Brown states that "In March 2006, Drs. Kevin Strauss, Holmes Morton and others documented 9 autistic Amish children, which could raise the autism rate of the Lancaster Amish community Olmsted supposedly investigated to almost 1/5,000 all by themselves."

Reasons the Amish do not vaccinate

Reasons that the Amish do not vaccinate as often as most people in developed countries include:

• Some Amish may simply see no benefit in this preventative measure
• Distrust over safety-some may view immunization as putting themselves at risk through exposure to a disease or fear that a vaccination may cause an illness
• Religious grounds-some Amish may see immunization as putting faith in man over God.

However, it has been noted that "In health matters, the Amish are pragmatists. When approached with facts by individuals whom they trust and when immunization is easy to obtain, most Amish are willing to be immunized."

Vaccination rates in Amish communities

A study published in Pediatrics in 2011 concluded that the majority of Amish parents do, in fact, vaccinate their children. In addition, the study concluded that "The reasons that Amish parents resist immunizations mirror reasons that non-Amish parents resist immunizations." Similarly, a 2006 study by researchers from the CDC, based on a survey sent to residents of the largest Amish community in Illinois, concluded that the Amish may not object to vaccines very often, and that when they do so it may not be for religious reasons.