I think my sons Autism was caused by lack of oxygen at birth

[WhatAMum01]

My son is 5 and severely autistic and mentally disabled.when hexwas being born his heart rate slowed down and there was panic on the midwifes face ,she was flapping and only person delivering.it was an induced labour and they thought I might need a csection but he ended up coming out but it was prolonged.he screamed every day as a baby and rarely slept, I tried everything thinking it was reflux ,hes continued with the awful sleep and lives a incapacitated life. Life is very difficult for our family.im wondering would it be worthy to see a negligence lawyer as it's the way he will be for his whole life and I worry about him when I'll be gone and no longer able to care for him.we are barely getting by just now.have I left it too late ,is it even possible. Please be kind,I'm not looking for some crazy payday,just seeing if theres anything that could be done for him due to what i believe was delayed care.anybody been in this situation?thanks for reading.

Helpful.Otter

Otter did you read the link to research on a huge number of kids born at a particular US hospital?

Statistically oxygen deprivation at birth is linked to a higher likelihood of autism at least in that study.

The link I posted up thread

the reason why many people go through medical negligence is because they don't want incident to reoccur & they have fought their way through the complaint procedure & got nowhere - ie there is & has been enormous barriers to getting answers or an apology & the issues can be downplayed & ignored & the concern is an incompetent action or method will continue & others will be put at risk. people talk of making complaints to NHS/PALS etc but believe me it isn't that simple. The other issue is loss of earnings for long term side effects (which can be both mental & physical & the need for ongoing care. Most of the time it is probably individuals but it can be a systemic organisational situation at individual hospital It is all very well to say that people damage the NHS from this but these people will cause more financial as well as physical damage to the NHS if they are allowed to continue because of the cost of repairing/caring/ongoing issues. Hospitals & doctors have insurance to cover this & it is not an easy option to do this you have to have concrete evidence & the incident & its affect to be proven is usually severe - we don't have American law here!

They have no idea what causes autism in the majority of cases.

I’ve read some interesting studies potentially linking it to maternal vitamin D deficiency and showing improvement in some delays with high dose vitamin D treatment. We are trying it as I did have a major vit d deficiency but not diagnosed until after pregnancy. Hard to say if it’s helping as we are trying lots of things at once. Worth researching however.

We just don’t know the cause.

Otter maybe read the thread.

WhatAMum01 I honestly think no-one is at fault here I'm afraid, but thats just my (meaningless) opinion.
The posters earlier have sent some good links though, so worth having a look for your own circumstance.

A lot of ignorance on this thread from people who know a tiny bit about autism so think they're an authority. There is no single 'cause' of ASD and in fact obstetric complications are associated with a higher risk of ASD.

www.spectrumnews.org/news/complications-pregnancy-may-contribute-autism-risk/

I think it is worth discussing with a medical negligence lawyer. None of us have enough expertise to advise whether or not you have a case.

Firstly I would NOT ask for PALs or any other organisation to look at the hospital notes. You are unlikely yourself to understand them anyway. If you think there was negligence see a negligence solicitor who will ask for the notes if they think there is a case. If you ask yourself, notes and readings have a habit of going missing.

Autism as such is not caused by birth trauma like lack of oxygen, but some brain damage mimics autistic like features. It may be possible that lack of oxygen triggers autism in a child with a predisposition to ASD but this is not proven and would not fly in a negligence case. Children with cerebral palsy who have had oxygen deprivation at birth have around a 6 times higher risk of autism, so there is a link but a very unclear and unproven one, and courts will only act on provability.

If a negligence solicitor looks at the notes then at least you may have some answers.

My son was born by emergency section after his heart stopped (from what I understand) He has autism and learning disabilities.

However, autism runs in our family, 2 of his brothers have it and their births were fine.

I do wonder if his learning disabilities are a result of his birth, but I've never thought any further than that. He's 17 now so it's not like I could do anything about it if it were the cause.

OP I can't add much that hasn't already been said about your specific question, but just wanted to mention proprioception.
My 8yo DS is autistic and we discovered he had major issues with proprioception (the sense of where your body is in space) through an Occupational Therapy assessment a couple of years ago, and it explained SO MUCH of his early years. He screamed for his whole first year.
Having an understanding of proprioception has helped us understand him and his triggers so much.

birdsfoottrefoil. The limit is not 3 years in the case of a child with a birth injury. More like 18 years (can't remember exact figure) or if older, 3 years from learning there was an injury. Basically a huge period in which to claim.

Please don't give incorrect information to vulnerable people.

Claims do not come out of the NHS budget, but out of a government funded compensation scheme. And that's the key word, compensation. It's not a lottery win, a jackpot or a prize, it's designed to put the child back into a position they would have been in, had the injury not occurred. So it will provide housing that means a child can actually see what the family kitchen looks like if it was previously inaccessible, or bath in a real bath because it was previously inaccessible, use a walker if none is provided, and so on.

People who say they don't like parents to claim for a birth injury should maybe live for a month with the effect of a midwifes incompetence. 😡

I dont know anything for absolutely certain if things did go badly wrong and this affected my son,i just know what I know. guess this is why I'm putting this out here.but someone has made a valid point saying what if the midwife just doesn't put any notes to the effect that something occured, it would end up being our word against theirs.we are not flush with money and I'd worry about costs.we haven't had any Autism in our family from both sides.yes I am angry my son is like this,yes I'd like answers to why it's happened, I'm analysing everything ,what else can I do.if I could record a day in the life of my son youd understand.

I do feel I've not got anything concrete to go on,so I'll try contact the hospital and see if I can access his report and have it shown to a professional who would understand it all and take it from there.

If it’s lack of oxygen at birth it’s more likely to be Cerebral Palsy

yellow it is 3 years but as I said for children that 3 years doesn’t start counting until they become adults at 18.

Op Autism can happen randomly too ,as I said upthread my son has a chromosomal deletion ,he is also severely autistic, there isn't a history of autism in our family ( on both sides ) either ,as I said I don't think they know exactly what causes autism and I don't think there is one cause anyway ,but just pointing out there doesn't have to be a family history .

I don't have any advice for you but I don't think seeking someone to blame is helpful No, but having money in the bank for a severely disabled child, is. So if there was negligence and therefore scope for a claim, it's not unreasonable to investigate.

OP you've had some good advice on here. Get the notes and see if there's anything there (mine were very detailed by the way, I just got mine out of interest, not because I thought anything had gone wrong). Then go to see a solicitor for proper qualified, informed, advice.

I don't think problems at birth would cause autism but they could obviously cause disability.

OP, I think you should ask for your notes.

I have a DS with a diagnosis of ASD who is now an adult. Like your DS he had a traumatic birth - low oxygen, emergency use of ventouse and a huge episiotomy for me. His head was massively deformed. My pelvic floor has never really recovered from this as he was just wrenched out. He was back to back and I think I should have been given a caesarian. Like your DS he screamed day and night as a baby and still has disturbed sleep now.

His childhood and teenage years were difficult and he attended a special school. As an adult he is calmer but a long way from fully functioning.

My belief is that he was brain damaged at birth. We have spent a long time waiting and seeing how he would develop because no-one knew. I think we can probably say now this is it and that he will need lifelong support. Like you my biggest worry is what will happen after I am gone.

I plan to ask for his notes on his behalf because even if my cause of action has expired, his has not.

If it’s lack of oxygen at birth it’s more likely to be Cerebral Palsy

That’s one of many things that can happen with lack of oxygen and brain injuries. My daughter and my friends son born days apart same gestation - had the same grade brain bleed for the same reason, but both lead very different lives. He has CP, my daughter has autism and epilepsy.

The scale of what could be after a brain injury is huge, and can be as little as needing glasses.

The scale is huge with chromosomal abnormalities too Prossseco,some people have few if any disabilities ,some people have physical and development disabilities .

birdsfoottrefoil. You don't say that at all, you said...

As far as time: I am pretty sure you would have timed out by now as I think the time limit is 3 year, however your son has 3 years from when he becomes an adult so until he is 21.

OPs child doesn't 'time out' until they become an adult. He is only 5 so has years yet in which to have any claim examined. That's it in its clearest terms. There are variables but birth injury claims don't in general follow the 3 year rule, although there is an element of that if the injury only comes to light as an adult. Adults in their 40s can claim if the records are still available, and if they had not been diagnosed when young.

Gosh, genuinely thank you to each of you for kindly replying and giving me some great suggestions and advice, really so nice to know that despite how our world is sometimes displayed, most people are good and are happy to help theirfellow mankind,even if they are strangers.