Lancet finally did it... and not a moment too soon. I have never been a big believer in the vaccine theory, which is a lonely view to hold in the world of autism. When things started to change for Jimmy was when we hit the world of ear infections and antibiotics at the age of nine months. But I can't say for certain if they are related. But with all the screaming about MMR means all the theories that I have heard that hold water with my experience - autism as an autoimmune disorder (my family carries a genetic marker for a certain one), any link to antibiotics, and really any other theory as to why kids like Jimmy are the way they are doesn't get explored they way it could or should. And every night I go to bed, I wonder if I will live long enough to see him get any better or if I will die leaving Jacob an impossible burden. It's hard to have hope when you live in state where year after year your General Assembly denies even the most modest initiatives towards therapeutic care. When parents can't even embrace other parents who have different ideas about how you have arrived at autism's door. It took me five years to become completely depressed and cynical. I am hoping to find my way out. Maybe the actions of the Lancet will be some momentum to start. MMR as the cause of autism does not equal gospel.
Next, if we can convince people that Hugh Hefner did not Jenny McCarthy a medical degree, we'd be getting somewhere (GFCF works for some kids, but it didn't work on mine, yet everyone feels the need to give me the books...)
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