Autism has certainly always existed, but I believe it was first described in the 20th century (though not sure about that). My kid is certainly "different" from his peers--at almost 17, he has difficulty both speaking and understanding spoken language, and uses the syntax of a two-year-old. He reads at somewhere between a first and second grade level, and does math about the same. At the same time, he is clearly not mentally retarded, but apparently quite bright. He is very visually oriented, and learns a lot from watching TV. His favorite shows are things like "Nova" (science show) and "Globetrekker" (travel). At age 6, he could find Lithuania on the globe and use a computer better than some adults, but was not toilet-trained. He knows all sorts of strange, unexpected information that suddenly comes out. He originally had seizures, but was cured by the ketogenic diet (that's another discussion). He makes a lot more attempt to communicate verbally than he used to, but is often frustrated by not being able to find the right words. He is actually rather friendly and outgoing, in a self-centered kind of way--unlike classically autistic kids, he loves new experiences. He will also sit down in any corner and start rocking back and forth--usually with a big grin, enjoying himself. Needless to say, it looks rather weird when he does this in the grocery store, but the neighbors know him and generally like him.

He developed normally for his first three months, but did not meet motor goals within the normal range. There may have been some lack of oxygen at birth, but three MRI's have not shown any lesions that would account for his condition. He was first vaccinated at 2 months. He has been in special programs since age 2.

The thing that makes me wonder is that fact that everything that is wrong with him is present in his older sister to a very tiny degree, but she is within the range of normal. Her ADD was not diagnosed until shortly after she graduated from high school.

As for avoiding vaccinations, that's probably not a good idea either. A family I know had a child who had seizures after a whooping cough vaccination, so the doctor suggested that the younger childern should not be vaccinated. One of them contracted whooping cough and spent 6 months in bed. I know an adult who had it at age 2 and suffered permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen caused by the coughing. She is in a special program for retarded adults.

The thing that is annoying is that the mercury compounds were apparently added as a money-saving move on the part of the drug companies. I think I would have rather paid a lot more for the vaccinations, even if I had to borrow the money. Of course, I have no actual idea why my kids are the way they are, but it's really a shame to have to wonder if it was from a preventable cause.