My husband and I have no family history of diabetes, and my first son was born healthy and still remains so. However, at the age of one year, my youngest was given the chicken pox vaccine, without my permission, and a month later was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Is it possible he got diabetes from the chicken pox vaccine?

There are two things here:

Despite questions, there are no irrefutable data of a link between the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine (or any routine vaccination for that matter) and the development of type 1 diabetes. Prior studies demonstrate that most patients with type 1 diabetes have had gradual loss of insulin production for about six months before the onset of frank diabetes symptoms of increased thirst and urination. So the time frame for you child is not in line with your theory. In addition, most causes of type 1 diabetes are due to a process in which the body makes antibodies that “attack” the pancreas and its ability to produce insulin. There are tests that can be done to see if your child has these antibodies and/or the genetic profile (called “HLA antigen typing”) that are linked to type 1 diabetes. If there is any blood remaining from a sample taken from your child before the varicella vaccine, that could possibly be analyzed for these tests to better reassure you.
Why were you opposed to the varicella vaccine? More importantly, how did your child get a vaccine without parental permission?

DS