Need some advice - re Autism - PLEASE HELP!!!

[JAKEJEM]

Hi all, as some of you probably know, I have a DS age 4, with ASD. We have his DPT booster apointment on Wednesday which we have kept putting off as he was quite ill after his 2/3/4 month ones as a baby. This time we have decided he needs it before starting school, but again I am having doubts. I thought it was now "safe" due to the Therimsol (sp?) component being removed, but now I am reading it is the pertussis component of the DPT shot that can cause Autism. Has any one else's children had this pre-school booster. I am so scared of him regressing. PLEASE HELP!!!
Thank you so much, Nikki.

Jakejem, we are having the same dilema about our ds2 (4). Not sure which way to go??
So i'll be interested in your responses.

I have decided not to let my dd have it. She is 7.5 and has AS.

Thanx for your replies, It is so difficult making a decision, worried sick that if he has it, he will regress - and worried sick that if he doesn't - he will get ill. Does anyone know the take up rate (percentage of children having it?) Is it so vital??????

We've decided against it for both DS1 (mild dyspraxia) and DS2 (ASD). I will think about giving them single tetanus shots when they're older.

Jimjams is the one you need for this!

ok am gonna sound really dumb now, but i didnt even know there was a link between the dpt and autism. i refused ds3 the 2nd mmr as i too was scared of regression after we had come so far, and i will be refusing it for ds4 aswell despite the fact that he is not asd, he is sn and still has traits and i'm not taking any chances, just for the record with the mmr i was told that its mostly a precaution and that most children are protected after their 1st, so i would assume that the dpt is the same, it is very hard knowing what best to do for our special peeps.

DS had a bad reaction to his jabs and went from verbal interactive and even using the potty, to headbanging withdrawal from everything could not bear to be looked at or touched non verbal and screaming all the time, we did not have the booster we couldn't/wouldn't risk it.

Oh God, I let DS3 have the baby jabs because the thimerosal had gone, I would have thought twice if I'd realised there was a link between the pertussis component and ASD.

I don't blame you for being worried, JakeJem .