Our son had MMR shot ...
then the lights went out

Agony ... Sarah and
Richard read campaigning Sun

DOTING dad Richard Miles told last night how his son became a “different child” after having the MMR inoculation.

He said: “On December 5 1989 Robert had the jab. After that, it seemed the lights just went out. He was in a world of his own.”

Robert, then 14-months-old, had just started to speak. He stopped talking and began bumping into things. He became so unhappy he would repeatedly bang his head.

When he was four he was diagnosed with autism and a type of bowel disease. Dad-of-three Richard, 46, from Hammersmith, West London, said: “Before his vaccine, Robert was perfectly healthy and very alert.”

But the antiques dealer recalled: “We noticed a big change in him when we went to stay with my parents-in-law in Jersey that Christmas.

“His walking became really unsteady and he kept bumping into furniture.

Robert ... had jab

“He was also very drowsy and would nod off at a moment’s notice.

“By the time we came back to London he had stopped talking. We took him to our GP, but like thousands of others our doctor had not yet come across this form of autism, so he couldn’t detect what was wrong.

“It was a difficult time — Robert became very difficult to manage. He seemed very unhappy with the world.

“Family and friends thought he was a naughty child and that we were responsible as his parents.”

Robert’s story will be familiar to the hundreds of other parents who claim their children also developed autism after immunisation.

The main symptoms of the life-long disorder are difficulty in communicating or interacting socially, speech problems, an inability to look people in the eye, being withdrawn and self-absorbed.

Often sufferers do not understand facial expressions or gestures and have a limited imagination. There are 518,000 sufferers in the UK.

Richard said Robert’s condition was known as secondary autism. He added: “The paediatrician had never come across it before, but then had eight cases at the same time.”

Now 13, Robert is much improved — thanks to a specialist school, a controlled diet and drug treatment at the Royal Free hospital, North West London.

Richard and wife Sarah, 45, are among 1,600 families suing vaccine manufacturers for compensation. The companies deny any link.

I can't risk it again

Dilemma ... Kay
with Emily and Jake

By JOHN COLES

FRANTIC Kay McDonagh is hoping to find the cash to give her second child single vaccinations — because her first developed autism after the triple jab.

Son Jake was 13 months old when he was given the MMR injection in March 1998. Within days Kay and husband Michael saw a decline in his abilities.

Now they want three-year-old daughter Emily to be inoculated — yet the nearest doctor giving single jabs is 50 miles away.

The jabs would cost around £180, plus another £100 in travelling costs.

Kay, 32, from Tredegar, Gwent, admitted they would struggle to find the money from Michael’s modest income as an upholsterer.

She said: “It’s a scandal we can’t have individual jabs locally.

“It’s a lot to pay but we’ll have to find the money somewhere.”

She added: “Jake had been a normal little boy. But a couple of weeks after the jab he stopped speaking and started running round in circles and not making eye contact. He went gradually downhill from there.

“We saw a TV programme about autism some months later and instantly knew he had it.”

Kay and Michael, 33, took Jake to a paediatrician who confirmed their fears. Kay said: “We were devastated. Our lives were turned upside down.”

Doctors have told Kay and Michael it is too early to say how badly Jake will be affected.

Kay said: “At the moment he’s not too bad. We can understand him. But no one can tell us what the future holds.

“Emily was called for her MMR two years ago but I refused. Nothing’s been said since.

“We don’t know which way to turn. Emily badly needs her jab, but we wouldn’t let her have the triple jab if it was the last thing in the world.”

Money 'is not behind policy'

By JACQUI THORNTON

THE Government yesterday denied cost was an issue in the row over immunisation.

Health Minister Yvette Cooper said advising parents to give their kids the MMR jab was based on medical evidence.

She said: “We have never made costs a consideration in this issue.”

A Health Department spokesman added: “We don’t offer single vaccines so have not looked into the cost.”

But single jabs WOULD prove significantly more expensive. Vaccines would cost more, patients would need six appointments instead of two — and there would be more admin costs.

In the US, MMR jabs cost $15.53 against a total of $22.44 for the three individual jabs. And cost IS an issue there.

A 1971 report on MMR jabs said they would “simplify administration and reduce costs.”

Where to get single jabs

MANY private clinics will give single vaccines at a total cost of around £200.

Support group JABS will tell you the nearest to you. Check their website www.jabs.org.uk or call 01942 713565.

Practices giving single shots include:

Edinburgh: Dr Peter Copp 0131 225 9949;
Louth: Dr Peter Mansfield 01507 601655;
Ledbury,
Herefordshire: Desumo Healthcare. 01531 631642; Manchester: Manchester Independent Family Practice 07000 782346;
Sutton Coldfield: Dr John Oakley 0121 308 8876;
Leics: Dr Julia Piper 01162 700373.
London — Holborn: Dr Richard Halvorsen 020 7405 7544;
Croydon: Dr Peter Campbell 020 8662 5050;
Eltham: Direct Health 2000 020 8859 1511;
Liverpool: Direct Health 2000 0151 512 7681.

They also have outreach clinics in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, Darlington, Swansea and Southampton.

Oxford: Dr Michael Kenworthy-Browne 01865 358459;
Colchester: Dr Christopher Parry 01206 212849;
Sheffield: Dr Pugh 020 8953 1881 (can also supply jabs in Herts, London, Glasgow and Belfast).
France (which is cheaper):
Dr Callieu 0033 321 344 978.

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