Chris MacInnes, the health of British children has never been worse. Never has so much of the 'healthy' fresh food been polluted with so many toxic (including neuro-toxic) chemicals. That's the fresh stuff. Processed junk, which most people somehow consider a normal part of childhood now, is worse and has never been consumed so much. Never have rates of asthma, food intolerance, allergies, impotence, skin conditions, CHILDHOOD CANCER (unheard of previously and elsewhere in the world) and other physical tell-tale signs been higher. Never have 'farmers' produced such poor quality food that eating five portions of its non-organic vegetables everyday STILL leaves you malnourished for vitamin C and other nutrients. Never has the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio been so ridiculously high. Mark my words, it's not just parents of obese kids who will outlive their off-spring, as we're warned. The way things are going, I'll be amazed if half the babies currently being born live to see sixty years.

Rachel, Kent,

I am so sad that the battle continues to rage and so much time is being spent arguing when the services the children, who have recieved a diagnosis, so badly need are denied them.
I remember a child in my class at school in the seventies who most certainly would receive a diagnosis now, he ended up in borstal, excluded and his life devastated as he had no understanding of social boundaries. The increase in diagnosis is an opportunity for all. For able verbal aspies and auties to educate the rest of us and for the country to get our services right for those who don't function so effectively in our society.
Parents are exhausted not by the autism and the problems that brings to functioning as a family but by the constant battle for appropriate education, respite services, medical support etc etc etc.

Caro, Coventry, West Midlands

my view is our son was fine untill he recieved his mmr jab he has now been diagnosed with atypical autism he is 10 now i think that speeks for itself

helen , wales,

Well I'm just a Mum but would like somebody to tell me that has access to these things........ how many people have been diagnosed with autism that HAVE NOT had the MMR jab ???

Annalisa Dennehy, Christchurch, New Zealand

Anjana Ahuja writes:
Richard from Jersey misrepresents the article I wrote about his son, in 1997. A re-reading of that article shows that I do not claim that the MMR vaccine caused his son's autism. I reported Richard's belief that it did so, which concurred with general views expressed by Dr Wakefield and Richard Barr, a solicitor representing parents who believed their children had been damaged by vaccines. At that time, Dr Wakefield's research was at an early stage and was a legitimate subject for a reporter to cover. If I sounded passionate, it was because I was deeply moved by meeting Richard's family.
Since then, I have not been convinced that the evidence points to a link between MMR and autism. Richard writes disparagingly that I have "changed (my) view" in the light of epidemiological studies. Leaving aside the fact that I have never expressed a personal view that MMR causes autism, that's what people SHOULD be doing - reassessing their opinions in the light of evidence.

anjana ahuja, london, uk

I can only speak as someone who is the parent of a boy that Anjana once felt so passionately about, that she wrote a long and moving article about his sudden decline into autism, following MMR vaccination. She has changed her view in the light of the extensive government funded epidemiological studies, designed to reinforce the official view that there is no proven link between MMR and autism. Yet no one, who knows anything about autism, will deny that it is a condition without a single cause and a net outcome. Epidemiology relies on cause and effect. Without that criteria, true evaluation is impossible and the epidemiological studies are worthless. The failure to grasp this simple fact has resulted in the persecution of three very good doctors, who are now facing the wrath of the very people who commissioned those studies. Children under their care have effectively been denied any hope of future treatment and investigation.

Richard, Jersey,

I can only speak as someone who is the parent of a boy that Anjana once felt so passionately about, that she wrote a long and moving article about his sudden decline into autism, following MMR vaccination. She has changed her view in the light of the extensive government funded epidemiological studies, designed to reinforce the official view that there is no proven link between MMR and autism. Yet no one, who knows anything about autism, will deny that it is a condition without a single cause and a net outcome. Epidemiology relies on cause and effect. Without that criteria, true evaluation is impossible and the epidemiological studies are worthless.

The failure to grasp this simple fact has resulted in the persecution of three very good doctors, who are now facing the wrath of the very people who commissioned those studies.

Children under their care have effectively been denied any hope of future treatment and investigation.

Richard, Jersey, UK

1 in 100, seems to be an accepted figure for autism. That autistic children need specialist help, is also accepted.

What help do they get? If the experience of my grandson is general, then they get further disablement, from the very people who claim to help them. He was diagnosed with autism and complex learning difficulties 6 years ago.

He is at a special school, where he spends his days with a totally unqualified classroom assistant. When disruptive, he is removed from the classroom altogether, into a school cupboard.

Educational psychologist - never met him. Speech and Language Therapist - never worked with him. Head Teacher turned nasty when we realised that all the help it had been stated he needed and we thought he was getting, was non-existant.

This child has been let down and discriminated against by the very professionals who are paid to help him.

That's the reality of autism. How are those professionals now helping? They're guarding their own backs!

Charlotte Peters Rock, Knutsford,

i think autism is a natural occurance but the MMr speeds it up abit. many children who have the MMR are still normal but some arnt .its all a case of science and health

samantha, hull, uk

"1 in 58 tells it all unless you are Th*ck!"

Thanks for that Charles. Did you actually read the article or are you just content to copy and paste the same paragraph into every comment page on every newspaper website covering this story? Don't you think it would be a bit 'thick' to quote the 1 in 58 figure as the article stated the following quite clearly:

Baron-Cohen says their study of Cambridgeshire children, which has been running for five years, comes out with a range of figures from one in 58, to one in 200, depending on various factors. The draft report, he says, “is as accurate as jottings in a notebook”. He adds that the data is with public health officials, who are crunching the numbers.

Sean Beattie, Rochester,

Its good to see a national newspaper actually writing an accurate article on the Autism/MMR debate. I congratulate Anjana Ahuja for writing a balanced and measured piece rather than the Observer's tactic of trying to sell more copies by stoking panic via a fabricated scare story.

woodchopper, Oslo , Norway

I have Asperger's syndrome, and wouldn't be quick to choose an outright 'cure' if it were available. What positive Aspie traits would I lose?

Clearly the Parisian researcher who claims that the increase in autism is purely a result of increased heavy metal poisoning and measels is mistaken. These may be contributory factors, but as there is still a severe lack of availability of diagnostic centres in the UK, especially for adults, we are still at the stage where a substantial increase in provision for diagnosing is going to lead to big increases in diagnoses.

I believe that autism is caused by many factors quite possibly including things that may damage the immune system, but we're not nearly saturated with diagnostic services, yet!

Richard Chandler, London, UK

Don't know what "Researcher "of Paris is researching, but I suspect it is something designed to make money out of of the fictitious "link" between MMR/vaccines and autism.

Autism genetics has nothing to do with the immune system. It is to do with brain development. The only people who say "immune system" are those trying to con you that "vaccines overload the immune system " (rubbish repeatedly disproved) or that "vaccines are full of toxic muck like mercury" (most aren't, and even those that had some - now removed - had so little it was irrelevant - also proven repeatedly).

I have read the papers. They are shoddy science. For instance the Irish study (co-authored by Wakefield, so hardly independent) used a method to "detect" measles virus that has now conclusively been shown to detect something completely different - not measles at all. They never bothered to check properly, as they were only interested in one answer. No control experiments - a basic error. And that's being nice.

PhD Scientist, Manchester,

I would suggest that the explosion in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses has more to do with a former under appreciation of human diversity than some great epidemic with a systematic cause. Indeed, without early intervention the autistic child of yesteryear would have been free to quietly fail or succeed, blissfully unaware that they were different.

The autistic community readily claims many high performing but eccentric people, ranging from Albert Einstein and Simone Weil to Bill Gates and W.B. Yeats for their own, but dig a bit deeper into the older general population, and you'll likely find lots of folk, ranging from the homeless to the most ordinary lives, that in retrospect might have been diagnosed with these conditions if the diagnostic tools had been applied several decades ago.

John, Halifax, Canada

Thank you!
It takes a science correspondent to report on a science topic. Well done Anjana! As for the Observer, who had a naive sports reporter set up in order to stoke uncertainty about MMR and maximise sympathy for Wakefield before his hearing - words fail me. Simple fact checking would have placed this storm in the teacup to which belongs, and the Editors have shown nothing but crass carelessness in allowing this defunct hypothesis to frighten parents away from vaccination yet again. Heads should roll in the Observer (and probably the Telegraph too), but somehow I doubt it.

David Thomson, Blackpool, UK

My nephew experienced problems at school to the point where my sister moved him to another school.

His problems persisted and he was seen by an Educational Psychologist. He told my sister that her son was 'like a child on drugs!' This information completely devastated her. When it was time for my nephew to start senior school my sister did her very best to find him a school that could accomodate her son. One of the first lessons he went to, the teacher humiliated him by sarcastically commenting that he had 'managed to remember' something. He felt so embarrassed my sister could not get him to go to school. The problems escallated and due to the situation making him ill, she allowed him to stay at home but, on the 2nd of January 2001 my sister died from a heart attack at the age of forty three. Failure to diagnose autistic related problems accurately is devastating for families such as mine. My mother especially has been deeply affected by what has happened.

k. harris, Halesowen, West Mids., England

If there was ever any evidence of an MMR/Autism link, it's now been thoroughly discredited - for a start, controlled studies of hundreds of thousands of children have uncovered NO link whatsoever; secondly, in the years after the MMR scare, vaccine uptake dropped dramatically. Guess what? There was no corresponding drop in Autism incidence!

By the way, I have been diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome and even if a 'cure' were found I wouln't want it. I honestly think that it lies at the very foundation of my personality traits, way of thinking and less usual talents.

JsD, Lincoln,

To tell the truth, I am shoked that a person signing "PHD Scientist; Manchester" can argue that the increase in autism prevalence is caused by enhanced detection methods. There is ample North American scientific litterature (in particular Californian) to disprove this point.
In addition, people should know that Wakefield's results havee been REPLICATED TWICE : once by an Irish team, once by an American team. If you want to portray yourself as a scientist, please read your peers' papers first.
The Measles virus is an autism cause in the anglo-saxon world only as live viruses are not commonly used in other parts of the world. People should be aware that the virus found by Wakefield et al. in the gut of autistic children is not the virus found in a natural environment but the virus used for vaccination.
The root cause of autism is a hereditary weak immune system. Autism is principally triggered by the measles virus and by heavy metal "poisoning" (eg thimerosal vaccine preservative)

Researcher, Paris, France, Paris, France

i have asperger syndrome and getting a diagnosis was difficult enough but getting support after diagnosis as an adult is even more difficult. please stop writing inaccurate reports and listen to the people with the condition because we are the ones who can tell you what it is like to live with asperger's. one thing that has come to light from this is that adult services are still lacking all over the nation. and if that goes unreported then that would be awful.

jemma, london, uk

It makes my blood boil that parents, so desperate for answers, were taken down a very dubious route in relation to the "research".

In the end it boils down to one thing-Wakefield et al are accused of committing research fraud - the parents and children included into the project were vulnerable and open to all sorts of suggestion because of their need to find out what was the matter with their children and what had caused it - in my opinion that "need" in them was abused by the professionals involved.

Research fraud is research fraud and any doctor who commits such a heinous act should be sharply disciplined.

Penny Mellor, Staffordshire,

Well done Anjana for writing a sensible scientifically-accurate story about MMR.

- And for stating clearly just why the story in the Observer was such a load of balderdash.

To repeat for the umpteenth time what people seem incapable of grasping:

- the increasing "incidence" of autism comes from widening the diagnostic criteria
- many many well-conducted scientific studies with huge numbers of kids show no link between MMR vaccines and autism. None
- the Wakefield & co studies have been discredited over and over again. We even KNOW precisely why the science was bad, and why it gave "false positive" results.
- the cause of autism are no doubt complex, which is why research continues, but genetics is likely to be important. If you get three autistic kids in one family, genetics is the obvious place to start looking.
- if you don't give your children MMR, you have likely been fooled by idiots in the media into seeing a "cover up" conspiracy where none exists.

PhD scientist, Manchester,

As a parent of a child with PPD it makes me boil to hear some people's comments. Autism does exist and it is a real issue. My daughter was diagnosed at age 3 after a battery of tests including bloodwork, urine studies, allergy tests, and MRI. I do believe the MMR resulted in my daughter's autism. I have medical proof to back it up. According to her immunologist her blood antibodies for Rubella are sky-high. I do not think the MMR affects every child the same. I feel that her immune system just couldn't handle it. She ran high fevers after every immunization. Her twin sister who is not autistic did not run fevers with hers. My daughter is an affectionate, well behaved happy child who is just learning to communicate at age 4. She has episodes where she is in her own little world,she repeats videos word for word and lines up all her toys. We spend countless hours and money treating her. Until you have dealt with an autistic child first hand I advise you to keep your mouth shut!!!

Laura, Blue Ridge, TX, USA

There is no scientific link between the single MMR jab and Autism. Let me say that again, there is NO scientific link. As a father to a child with PDD / Aspergers I would argue that it is far more likely to be of a genetic / hereditary issue than it is to be the amalgamation of 3 innoculations into one. By not administering any form of MMR vaccination you are putting both your child and the children of other people at risk of mumps, measles and rubella.
As for the arguments that Autistic spectrum cases have gone up since the banning of the cane and the decline in morals since the '50's? Oh defintely. May I also suggest that the number of Autistic Spectrum diagnosis is inversely proportional to the number of pirates on the high seas as well? Cop on, read the scientific literature and educate yourselves.

John Maguire, Dublin, Ireland

Not a medical person, but as I understood it, the original flawed study quoted by the Daily Mail. Used a control sample of much younger children, against those of MMR.

Of course the control sample showed no signs of Autism, the children would be too young to show signs.

Its not just the people doing the dodgy research, but the poor journalism which leads to these scare stories.

I regularly read reports in media in my area of Technology and they completely miss the point. Makes me wonder if you can believe any "Science" article in the press.

check out www.badscience.net

terry, London,

Professor Baron-Cohen should read my book, "Andrew Give us a Kiss" which tells of the life of a person who is of very low ability and autistic. Living with a person who needs 24 hour care is not easy and is made less so by a scientific lobby who seem to have made little progress identyfying cause - we all know the effect.

If this scientific lobby put as much effort into caring for the carers, as they seem to do avoiding blame, then progress might follow through a partnership of those involved.

I also feel successive governments have avoided the truth too, and the professor is adding to this avoidance with his report. Hopefully, one day, Dr Wakefield and his team will be totally exonerated for their pioneering work.

Lawrence Gordon, Birmingham, England

I don't believe for one minute, that the MMR jab has nothing to do with Autism, they can do all the "brainwashing" they want, but it don't wash with me!
Remember the health minister that came on news at ten with his children scoffing hamburgers and said Quote;
"Look everyone my children eat beef!! no way can you contract CJD Mad cow disease" only to be proven Soooo Wrong! a few years later!
How can anyone trust what they say?
1 in 58 tells it all unless you are Th*ck!

Charles Linskaill, Edinburgh, UK

Until a wide study is done of those children who have been diagnosed, and all possibilities are looked at, parents will continue to consider MMR responsible for their children's autism.
As a parent of three children affected, I want to know if there is a definitive reason; is there something in the biology of some children that means it is unwise to give them MMR. Can it act as a trigger to autism in susceptible children?
Until this is clarified there will be concerns voiced.

carol bevitt, nottingham, uk

The MMR issue totally misses the blindingly obvious choice - we used to have 3 separate shots for Measles, Mumps and Rubella - other countries still do - we should be offered the option to have them separately...... if a premium is involved, fair enough - the issue here is the bullying and restrictive practices foisted on society that so embodied the Blair government - the answer is simple - why is it not so?

Andrew Iddon, London, UK

I beleive that people have ad Aspergers for years and were simply thought of as odd or eccentric prior to our keenesss to give evrything a label. I also beleive that in the days where there were stricter moral and social behaviour codes people with Aspergers were able to overcome many of the problems that we see apparent these days because the rules were stricter. I am not saying that we need to return to the days of "children should be seen and not heard " but that the stricter codes of behaviour provided a stronger less confusing framework for these children which benefitted them and allowed them to function better in society than our looser more flexible rules do today

Ellie, Inverness, Scotland

Autism is suddently all about numbers. Public health officials can 'crunch the numbers' whatever way they want but the reality is that schools have more children on ASD spectrum and while the media debate numbers and causes of Autism, autistic children are denied the Medical and Education services they deserve. Professor Simon Baron-Cohen can sit on his report - it wont change the services autistic children receive.

Linda, London,

I refer to the headed items: The range of disorders, what to look for and how they can be treated
Surely the section headed 'Atypical autism' should be headed Typical autism or simply Autism, 'atypical' meaning 'not typical' (?)

J Noble, Solihull,

This story would be hilarious if this wasn't such a sad development. They talk as if autism is a disease, a medical condition. It's not. It's a symptom. Just the fact that so many kids now display these symtoms is a disgrace. These symptoms include injury to the immune, gastrointestinal and central nervous system not some quirky behavior. Mr. Cohen makes me sick!

Tom, Chicago, USA

I don't think Dr Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues should be struck-off as they haven't actually done anything medically or ethically wrong. I have two sons and neither of them will be having the MMR.

Fiona, Isle of Man, UK

At last! A competent journalist writing clearly about scientific controversy is a rarity in today's press. The author should join forces with Ben Goldacre at "badscience.net and bust a few more myths.

Ed Moran, Torquay,

Whatever the cause of the rising incidence of autism, one thing that we can be quite certain about is that it has nothing to do with the MMR vaccine. That has been researched to exhaustion and there is absolutely no evidence against it.

paul hewish, Norfolk,

If you remember at school their were those children who were described as stupid or aggressive or quite but none of them were ever decribed as autistic. Labels are getting thrown at children nowadays for no reason. Children are being stigmatised with these new labels and no funding is forthcoming to deal with these "new health problems". In reality the health of children in this country has never been better. Autism is being used as an excuse by teachers for children they can not deal with under the discipline rules in school. It is no surprise that cases of autism went up at the same time as the cane and belt was banned.

Chris MacInnes, Glasgow, Scotland

I don't believe for one minute, that the MMR jab has nothing to do with Autism, they can do all the "brainwashing" they want, but it don't wash with me!
Remember the health minister that came on news at ten with his children scoffing hamburgers and said Quote;
"Look everyone my children eat beef!! no way can you contract CJD Mad cow disease" only to be proven Soooo Wrong! a few years later!
How can anyone trust what they say?
1 in 58 tells it all!

Charles Linskaill, Edinburgh, UK

An Establishment cover-up, yet again.

David, Educated Britain, UK