I've read that the MMR vackseen in particular has been implicated as a cause of Autism. A new shot came out in 1983 so figure that I got it right around the time I turned 3 years old, give or take a couple of months. By the time I was 4, I had numerous autistic traits. I think it's perfectly reasonable to question whether or not there is a connection especially if I am correct about the Aluminum toxicity being responsible for the autoimmune reactions.
I do not remember getting the shot so I have no idea if there was an immediate negative reaction though I've heard that 15 percent get a fever. My mother might remember but I don't want to ask her and make her feel bad. Even if it's proven that I was harmed, I certainly do NOT blame my parents. They had no way of knowing that it could be dangerous nor did they know that I have the MTHFR mutation. I believe it was required to attend public school, so what choice did they have?
One change in me that I do recall was new food aversions. I liked eating peas as a toddler but when I was about 4-5, I could not stand the sight of them. To this day, I still won't eat them. This is just one of several examples and is a common autistic trait.
When I was 4, I was sent to a special pre-school which judged me as "very delayed" and predicted that I would never keep up with my grade level. Autism was often mistaken for mental retardation especially when it was poorly understood in the mid 1980s. What happened next was inexcusable. After I had a meltdown over a food aversion, I got tied up with a rope and locked in room alone. My parents were horrified and my sister was quite disturbed as well even though she was only 9. Fortunately, my parents sent me to a 3rd pre-school, where I had no significant problems.
Childhood traits that I have outgrown:
Stacking soup cans in the kitchen
Making strange sounds repeatedly
Needing to touch or hold something when I entered a room.
Poor eye contact and appearance of dishonesty even when telling the truth.
Difficulty with transition such as getting out of the shower, going to bed and especially getting out of bed. That's mostly gone now. Occasionally I do sit idle in my car for a couple minutes after I get home.
Stimming action such as rocking back and forth in a chair and shaking my legs without realizing it
Traits that have evolved:
I used to watch the same videos over and over and often repeated the same statements over and over. I suppose that falls under the umbrella of intense interest in several topics. I knew everything that there was to know about baseball and football stats in the late 80s and early 90s. I still remember much of it today.
Intense interest later shifted to Back to the Future, Seinfeld and the Rocky and Star Wars franchises. Now, it's travel and foreign languages. If I ever get healthy again, the interest in running and alternative medicine will return but maybe not to its former intensity.
"Spikey skill sets"
It's common for autistic people to excel in a certain discipline but struggle mightily in others that most people can easily handle. I taught myself how to multiply and divide in kindergarten. My mother was playing a Math game with my sister in the living room and I easily recognized the pattern. I bet I would have figured it out even earlier if given the opportunity. I scored in the 99th percentile in a few standardized Math tests. I was strong in History as well. Sometimes, I struggled with Science lab reports but usually did okay if I had a good lab partner. My English and Reading skills were average at best. That gap did close in high school. I could get an A in Regular English but scored in the mid 80s in AP. My Math remained strong but was no longer in the top percentile. I had terrible hand writing and still do today. My Art and Mechanical skills were and still are probably among the worst that my teachers have ever seen.
I've taken a few IQ tests over the years and usually scored between 120-130. That's probably about right. Though I was a very good student, it didn't always come easy and I had to work for an A in most subjects. My crystalized intelligence is much higher than my fluid intelligence, which makes perfect sense. I may struggle with new or unfamiliar tasks that I don't do regularly but once I do learn, it sticks long-term.
Social cues:
I simply could not read social cues. I truly couldn't tell if I was being subjected to harmless teasing or real bullying. I went through a phase in which I would make a fool of myself to make people laugh. I thought kids found me funny but didn't realize until years later that they were laughing because they thought I was stupid. One poster said that they followed the written rules but didn't understand the unwritten rules of conduct. I can identify with that.
I often didn't get sarcasm and took everything literally. Knock em dead. You can say that again. Don't cry over spilled milk. I took all of that literally. All common autistic traits right there.
A quack psychologist immediately told me that I think in absolutes and my thinking is "too black and white.". I don't even remember what I said that made her think that but supposedly it's another autistic trait. My Dad agreed but said it's all right. As a Conservative, I tend to believe in moral absolutes rather than cultural relativism. I joked about joining the dark side because in the words of Obi Wan Kenobi: Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Growing up, I usually did have a couple of close friends but never fit in with any group. High school was different. I was friends with the group (cross-country) but didn't really have a best friend. I had shaky coordination. I could hold my own in a pickup game of soccer or basketball but was terrible in baseball and football. My only chance to make a sports team was Track. I took it and it turned out to be an intense interest and provided a refuge from severe bullying. However, it was also very frustrating to work my ass off only to be beaten by slackers with more natural talent.
I wasn't great but was good enough to enjoy the team camaraderie. However, whenever I asked to hang out with a couple of guys that I really looked up to, they always politely declined. One time, I had 2 free tickets to an amusement park but couldn't find anyone to go with me. That was really hurtful. Perhaps if I was a little faster or neuro typical without annoying quirks, things would have been different. Still by my Senior year, most of my classmates respected me for my academic and athletic achievements. I got along better with average students than my AP circle.
I don't care about fashion in the least. I have a rotation of roughly 20 outfits that I wear all the time. I eat at the same restaurants often on the same days of the week and order the same item from the menu.
Speech:
In recent years, my southern accent has been described as "beautiful" "lovely" and "adorable" but that wasn't always the case. It used to be slower, flatter and monotone. Even though it was no secret that I was an A student, I still got called a retard. It was not uncommon for me to get laughed at for answering a question correctly in class or told to STFU after joining a conversation with an inoffensive remark. When I asked what was so offensive, they admitted that they weren't even listening to me. WTF!
It's rare but I've heard about autistic kids with an accent that doesn't match where they grew up. I can see how that could happen. Suppose that you are bullied over your speech but with a couple subtle vowel shifts, you can pass for "normal" in another region. I don't see any problem with that.
Long-term Memory:
Autism is not all bad. One of my fun little quirks is the ability to remember vivid details from events that took place 30+ years ago. I've chatted with people that remember exact dates. I'm usually not that precise but can always remember the year and usually the month. I can also remember the exact location and if it happened at home, I remember the room.
I remember childhood phone numbers and addresses of people that I never called. I remember my locker combination and my neighbor's as well. I could tell you my schedule, room numbers and my grades every year from 6th grade on. I often remember who sat next to me as well. I'm an entertaining story teller. Some people are amazed by it but others find it a little creepy.
Again, I was never diagnosed but few people would argue that I am not autistic after reading this post. If I was growing up today, I almost certainly would have been diagnosed and treated differently. That said if I was harmed by childhood vackseens, I can't even imagine how badly off I would be if I had to take today's schedule.
Having one or two of these traits is fairly common and I don't agree that "everyone is a little autistic.". One or two traits doesn't meet the criteria but having all or most is a different story.
Two traits that I thankfully do NOT have:
Aversion to unfamiliar surroundings and inability to smile. Not every case looks the same but certain traits are common.
