AUTISM: Vaccination scourge?
March 3, 2009 - By Al Gallo
Doctors say that the sudden appearance of autism after inoculation with the MMR vaccine is a mere coincidence. The parents of an autistic child are not easily convinced by what they see as closing ranks to defend the ‘holiness’ of vaccines.
My wife and I first met our dear friends Peter and Susan in 2000
when their only child George was eight years old. According to our
friends George was a perfectly normal child and at two and half years
of age they were charmed when he began to articulate his first words.
At that time they took George to the doctor to get the measles, mumps
and rubella vaccine. That moment to this family represented the
beginning of a life full of enduring love for their now autistic child,
and a tremendous research effort to analyse all the available
literature about autism. They made use of all the relevant pathology
tests to investigate the possibility of mercury poisoning and applied
suggested methods such as a very healthy diet. They’ve gone through
fifteen years of tremendous sacrifice, hope and frustration.
There are cases of mild autism. This is certainly not one of them.
George is now seventeen and requires constant attention by at least one
of his parents, as well as individual attention at school. He does seem
to understand certain things and twelve months ago I was really pleased
when his mum asked him to give me a kiss. George kissed my cheek at
once. After many times when I have observed him during the last eight
years this was undoubtedly his best moment.
George doesn’t pronounce a single word, but emits loud guttural sounds,
though his body language seems to be explicit enough for his parents to
interpret a yes or no. The most salient handicap in the functioning of
his brain is the attention span, which doesn’t seem to last more than
one second. I have repeatedly seen Peter calling him to attention; he
looks at his father, but a second later his eyes wander away towards
something else. His height (1.8m – 6’ tall) and physical strength would
make an able-bodied Olympic athlete envious.
These strong body features and high level of energy keep him walking
relentlessly from one place to another tearing a magazine page or a
tree leaf into small pieces, shifting at times towards physical contact
with any person who is nearby. At this point he can cause pain by
gripping someone’s flesh with a grin in his face. He seems to adopt
this kind of play to give vent to bouts of hyperactivity. On occasions
like this I have showed his parents that the gentle application of some
personal self-defence movements are effective to direct him towards a
sofa or a bed for him to sit down, holding him in that position for ten
seconds by just placing a finger on his forehead.
Both, Peter and Susan, have spent years patiently talking to George in
the hope that he will react according to their suggestions. This
reveals a very loving attitude, but not a successful one, due to his
inability to concentrate long enough to assimilate any instruction. I
was recently talking with Peter by the side of their swimming pool
while Susan and George cooled down in the water during a very hot day.
At some stage I noticed that Susan in a corner at the other end wasn’t
feeling well. I suggested to Peter to go and see if she was alright.
Peter came back a couple of minutes later to tell me that George had
grabbed her neck tightly.
It is clear that George has a certain level of memory and that his
behaviour responds to instinctive sensations. This helps him to stay
clear of such things as extreme heat, noise (to which he is
particularly sensitive) or pain. Parents in a similar situation could
certainly take into account these characteristics to model effective
ways to deal with that unusual kind of behaviour.
