Hello Virginia,
One of the few things that I think almost everyone agrees on is that autism is due at least partly to hereditary and partly to environmental causes; there is, however, fierce debate on the extent to which each contributes to its prevalence. Some children show obvious symptoms from the day they are born. (For example, they don't want to be held.) One of the reasons that autism is often referred to as "Autism Spectrum Disorder" is that children on the spectrum are so diverse in their symptoms, the age at which their symptoms first manifest, the severity of their symptoms, and quite possibly even the causes of their autism. (It has been speculated that autism may have a variety of different causes.)
re: Autism happening around the second or third birthday: That is often when it is diagnosed, but there are frequently earlier indications that the child is not developing in a typical fashion. (For example, the child doesn't imitate or point to objects.)
re: the doctor you mentioned: Dr. Wakefield is a highly controversial, and commonly discredited, figure who cited the MMR vaccine specifically. Other, more reputable, doctors support the hypothesis that the thimerosal (a form of mercury) which used to be in many vaccines and is still present in trace amounts in some (e.g., many flu vaccines), is what causes the insult to the immune system that eventually results in the child's manifestation of autism.
If you are interested in reading more about the controversy, the following two web sites are typical of the two sides:
The position of
The Center for Disease Control is that vaccines are generally safe and that severe adverse reactions are rare.
According to its website,
The Coalition for SafeMinds "was founded to raise awareness, support research, change policy and focus national attention on the growing evidence of a link between mercury and neurological disorders such as autism, attention deficit disorder, language delay and learning difficulties."
I am more grateful than I have words to say that at least the the older (1950s-1960s) view of autism being caused by "refrigerator mothers" has been universally discredited. I can't even begin to imagine the guilt those poor mothers of the time must have felt, on top of everything else they had to deal with.
and love your child no matter what.
So true!
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us in this way. I've been looking forward to this since you first mentioned the possibility of writing it, and you didn't disappoint. Of course, I've never been disappointed by a Lynn S.M. story so I guess that statement makes no sense.
Thank you! This story was truly a labor of love. I am so glad that it worked for you; I struggled with it for at least nine or ten months. (The story was definitely full-term.)
You have Clark leaving twice. Is one of those supposed to be Todd?
Eep! I can't believe I didn't catch it. It has been changed so that the first 'Clark' now reads 'Todd.' Thanks for pointing that out.
Thanks again,
Lynn
