FLINT -- A 13 year old study that found a link between childhood vaccination and autism turned out to be false.

NBC25 talked to some local health experts about the findings.

What causes autism? It’s a question parents ask everyday.

Now a study by English doctor, Andrew Wakefield linking the childhood MMR vaccine to the disease has been found to be fraudulent by an investigative reporter.

But the effects of the study reached worldwide.

Since Wakefield’s study was published, even the suggestion that the MMR shot was connected to autism, prompted thousands of parents to stop immunizing their children against measles, mumps, and rubella.

“And there were a number of child deaths that occurred because the children were not protected,” said Mark Valacak, the Director of the Genesee County Health Department.

Genesee County health officials say vaccines are one of the safest and best methods of protection against disease.

“There is a long history of testing these vaccines, we follow through, once they are approved and on the market, they still continue to monitor to see if there are any negative side effects.

Autism expert, Dr. Pamela Lemerand says there is no data linking vaccines with autism, but more studies need to be done.

“Now as a professional who works with hundreds and hundreds of families, I can't in my heart discount families' beliefs that this is what happened to their child,” said Dr. Pamela Lemerand, the Director of the Autism Collaborative Initiative at Eastern Michigan University.

Lemerand says in Southeast Michigan autism rates have doubled since 2003.

Lemerand doesn't recommend if a child should or should not be vaccinated, but offers an alternative.

“Which is to give them over a longer period of time and in not such big combinations, and that you can separate the MMR into the M, M, and R.

Scientists still don't know what causes autism, but some say genetics, and environmental toxins may be factors.

Dr. Lemerand says the growth rate of autism in Southeast Michigan is greater than all other disabilities in children combined.