Did you get your special needs kids HPV vaccinated?
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Anonymous
| While I don't believe that my severe special needs daughter will be sexually active in adolescence, there is a higher risk of sexual assault. I'm curious what others have done. Thanks for info on this sensitive topic. |
Anonymous
| Both my SN son and my NT son got the vaccine. Never occurred to me not to do it. |
Anonymous
+ a million You never know what the future holds and this is one way to protect your child. |
Anonymous
Yep. Same here. |
Anonymous
| I got it. My kids (SN and not) will get it. This is a nonissue to me. |
Anonymous
| No, and nor did the pediatricians even ask or recommend it. |
Anonymous
| Nope. |
Anonymous
Some pediatricians are complacent and don't really keep up with the times. I would get a new pediatrician. |
Anonymous
|
It's NOT just sexual assault you have to worry about, it's the risk of cervical cancer (which is a VERY real thing for girls in their 20's now).
My pediatrician will not allow you to continue to be patients in their practice if you refuse the vaccine for your children (as well as they should). Please read this & afterwards you won't have a question in your mind as to whether to vaccinate your child. https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/hpv-vaccine-cancer-prevention |
Anonymous
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Other than the copay, which is a drop in the bucket of costs for care of a SN kids, why wouldn't you?
Answer based on science: No good reason. So, with a slight possibility of benefit, and no risk to outweigh that benefit, yes. Not even question that keeps me awake at night. |
Anonymous
Wow, thank you so much for posting this... definitely frightening stats. That being said, I don't understand how some parents can be so complacent as to just say "nope" when it comes to possibly preventing certain types of Cancer in your child?? How can you be so lackadaisical? 
The sentence that literally gave me goosebumps was “It’s a wake-up call for both genders, but particularly for males,” says Jessica Keim-Malpass, a nurse scientist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville". |
Anonymous
op here -- I am fully familiar with the cancer risks. They arise as the article states via sexual activity and sexual exposure. I'm not a prude nor am I anti sexual activity. My daughter weighs 32 lbs. She wears diapers. Is this a medical treatment she requires? I'm asking parents of girls in my position. |
Anonymous
| And I am hardly lackadaisical. If I were I would just get her the shot. |
Anonymous
My understanding is that OP is asking about a child who she does not think will be consenting to sex (perhaps because she believes her daughter is not capable of consent). If this turns out to be true, then the only way that the vaccine would be helpful would be in the event of non-consensual sex/sexual assault. Unfortunately, the rates of sexual assault for kids with significant disabilities are enormous. Even if a parent does everything right to prevent this, it's a very real possibility, and protecting one's child makes sense. I can imagine that's an incredibly hard decision to make. It's also possible that your daughter will mature to the point where she can offer meaningful consent, and will be able to consent, and thus need protection. I'll also add that while I'm a big believer in vaccines, if your pediatrician doesn't understand that every single medical decision needs to be made individually when it comes to severely disabled children, then people probably should leave his/her practice. My guess is that the policy is more nuanced than "anyone who doesn't vaccinate needs to leave". |
Anonymous
Thank you, my sentiment exactly! 
I'd love to hear some of the excuses as to why parents WOULDN'T vaccinate their child? We know that the HPV vaccination is NOTHING like the vaccinations that caused people to have concerns regarding autism. So why wouldn't you? OP, what was your concern (fyi, that was said in a completely non judgemental way)? |