If your child has ASD, do you believe it was caused by MMR?

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I still keep reading about this, especially in articles from USA.
I know it wasnt the cause of DDs because they have signs long before MMR jab. I am wondering though, but dont want this to end in a massive fight either.

I have to admit, i'm surprised that the response hasn't been more balanced.

To be honest I don't know how I feel about this one. Dd had her jabs seperately. Expensive yes, but at the time I was hearing so many terrible stories and I just thought that if anything happened, i'd never forgive myself.

indigoBell-I've never heard anyone else complain about the 3 month jab. I can't remember all the jabs they have in the frist few months, but I remember thinking this is just too much for a little person to take. I think it was something like 2 in 1 arm and 2 in her leg and on the same day. It never made any sense to me, regardless of the fact there is no evidence of anything nasty(don't thnk there is anyway. Correct me if i'm wrong)

I remember calling my midwife the day after my dd had her 3 month ones and I was terrified. She was constantly looking dreamy and her eyes were rolling round. I really do believe I lost a part of her that day. Even at 3 months old, you know your children and I knew something was wrong.

I suspect that DS was autistic before MMR but he was horribly ill afterwards with D and V, couldn't even keep water down, thank God he was still BF or he would have been in hospital sedated on a drip for three weeks.

He used to eat anything and everything but after that refused food altogether and has never been the same since in terms of what he will eat and has a severely restricted diet and bowel / gut issues.

I don't know what they are exactly because whenever I mention them to a health professional they seem to turn deaf

He is going to have singles instead of the pre-school "booster". I might even skip the mumps one as I'd rather he had it as a child and developed real immunity than get it as a young man when the MMR has worn off. But I need to research it a bit more.

My DS (now 14) was showing signs of problems with behaviour and social skills before MMR jab. His MMR jab was due at exactly the time the big 'scare' kicked off about the jab so he didn't have it. We were just arranging for him to have single jabs on NHS when Government stopped it - so he didn't have any single jabs either.(never got round to going privately as no clinic nearby). He was DX with HF ASD at age 6 - so no - MMR not responsible!

No. dd1 was autistic before she had the MMR (we delayed it for a bit; she had it around 18 months, iirc)

a lot of her digestive issues started up post MMR though, so I have th eimpression it didn't do her a whole lot of good.

I believe that Wakefiled et al have a point though, and dd2 is unvaccinated, largely due to following the "be cautious" advice for siblings (and I am glad we did follow it, as it appears she probably has some mitochondrial dysfunction)

I know a few people who think MMR was the trigger fo rtheir dc's ASD, and I wholeheartdly believe them - ime, parents are not often looking of rsomehting to blame, but a way to help their children.

I am not that surprised that the answers have not been more even - the hypothesis is that up to 7% of autistic children may be susceptible to MMR.

genetic over here, quite clearly.

Not mmr for us I think. Better contenders for cause: alcohol when didn't know I was pregnant, 15 days overdue, cord round neck, forceps, postnatal depression, reflux with silent apnoeas, being left in daycare, not playing with him enough... but mainly genetics I think.

All the other authors except Wakefield have reexamined the data and retracted authorship of that infamous paper. And the rise in autism is independent of the variations in MMR rates in any country examined so far. So the MMR vaccine-bowel-immune-autism hypothesis really is a bit shaky... if there is a link with jabs, someone else needs to show it with some much better research.

No ds was "odd" from his earliest days and dd had her diagnosis before the MMR

No, my DS was showing signs pre-MMR.

Pipin dd regressed in exactly the same way at the same point days after her first birthday, with the same high pitched squeal (have never heard that noise before or since) She too was then non verbal severe autism and silent for 12 months.No MMR though was seen day previous by GP at my appointment waving smiling and saying the odd word, four days later seen again non responsive and didn't smile for six months then and made first sound 12 months later.She is brilliant now but only after a huge amount of intervention from days after the regression.

No, I think DS clearly had "issues" from day one BUT we were careful with DD in case she had a predisposition and gave her singles, not worried enough to leave her unvaccinated though.

BUT I have a long term, serious immune system illness (Scleroderma) which emerged very soon after DS was born and I have many friends with children with ASD who have a variety of immune system illnesses - evidence or coincidence?

BUT again, there is a clear genetic connection in my family - I have a sister with AS, two cousins who probably have AS, one of whom's DS has Kanner's autism like my DS.

I believe tales like pipins and it must be soul-destroying. It was a tale like that that made me get single jabs for my son.

He is, however, still autistic!

But I agree with those who've said that causes can be different for different children.

DS2 showed signs well before his MMR. From him being very little I knew there was something different about him. He was DS at 2.6 yrs.

Maria - I'm very sad that you think being left in daycare and not playing with your child causes ASD. The 'refrigerator mother' theory on ASD is certainly very out of date now.

No I don't.

How interesting about the rhesus blood/ anti-d thing.
I have that too and had a bloody load of jabs with ds1.

I think the mmr is implicated with ds2s regression - the gut problems and behaviours set in so soon after and ds2 had his mmr at 18 months and a few weeks, so the change was noticeable.

But I think he was primed for it - the anti-d's family history of jab reactions, chicken pox at a year, poor immune system..
The mmr was the final straw i think, the thing that blew his system for good.

The fact that he improved when we unravelled the connection with gut damage and gluten and casein reinforces that to me too.

No, absolutely not. In hindsight DS1 was very different from a very early age. More clear now when we can see DS2 being very different to DS1.

I have no idea what the trigger was for dd only it can't have been MMR because she didn't have it until after dx as GP had advised that we delayed it because of ds's ASD.
Dd went to GP with me the day previously, GP saw her smiling and waving dd said bye as we left and dog when GP picked up a toy she dropped.
The following day the high pitched noise started (I now believe it was cerebral irritation), I took her to GP who examined her could see no sign of infection, she had no temperature her ears and chest were clear and so felt she could be teething and advised Calpol.
Four days later the noise stopped and dd was silent, not smiling, not laughing, not interested. I returned to GP who made an urgent referral to Paed because she suspected Retts.
It was six months then before she smiled and 12 months before she made a sound following me putting in place early intervention within weeks of regression.
Developmental checks at two gave her a developmental age of between six and twelve months and her dx at two states moderate to severe autism and global development delay.
I wouldn't say I was neurotic before her regression but I watched her and I couldn't see any signs anywhere. GP did her developmental checks because I wanted someone more able than a HV and dd passed every one easily.Each time I saw GP she made a point of interacting with dd and only the day previously had commented on how well she was doing.
For me it was a bolt from the blue really there was no warning and nothing that I can identify as either a trigger or any warning signs. I have gone over the days and weeks in my mind but there is nothing I can pinpoint. I have watched the recordings obsessively and there is no clue so I'll never know.
Dd had the MMR a week after dx so just after her second birthday.GP was far more anxious than I was and asked me to wait in surgery afterwards, gave me her mobile number and instructions to call an ambulance if I was worried. Dd was fine with no worsening of her symptoms and had her booster at the usual time.

Because I had ds and had spoken to lots of parents who had reported the same as you I was wary of the MMR even though I know it wasn't a cause of ds's autism. I spoke to GP and we decided that dd's MMR would be delayed until just before her entry to nursery at three by which time the autism would be obvious. After the dx I wanted it done ASAP because I wanted her protected from measles mostly.
I do wonder though whether some parents who pinpoint MMR would have experienced the same regression without it as dd did.

no i think it was present from birth and as is in my fathers family

hi interesting point about anti d however i had that jab with dd and she appears to be nt however i did read that rh_ mums are more prone to jaundiced babies and dd11 ended up in special care with that