Why mother is immune to MMR claim

ALAN MacDERMID

THE latest endorsement of the MMR vaccine by the Scottish Executive and the medical establishment cuts no ice with Deborah Turnbull.

Her daughter, Shannen, now eight, showed the first signs of what turned out to be autism within two weeks of receiving the triple vaccine at 16-18 months.

Now Mrs Turnbull, 31, who lives in Erskine with her husband Andrew and their two daughters, is determined that their third child, due in eight weeks, will get single vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella.

"Until Shannen got the vaccine she had been normal, her milestones were fine," Mrs Turnbull said yesterday. "Then she became very listless, and took very bad ear infections.

"At first, we thought she was deaf. If we called to her when she was in her playpen, she wouldn't respond. We took her to the medical centre and they tested her hearing. It was perfect."

Their next step was a paediatrician in Paisley, who suspected autism. This was confirmed after tests at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, at Yorkhill in Glasgow. By then, she was two-and-a-half.

"My older daughter, Nicole, now 10, was fine after her MMR but I will not have it for the baby I am expecting. But I think they should be protected, so I will get the single injections for mine," she said.

"Shannen is very solitary. She does everything on her own terms. The only way she will interact is if something makes her laugh. She is very severely affected and needs constant one-to-one attention. She needs stimulated all the time and can throw tantrums when we take her out.

"I can't go out without her. I have to sneak out the door. If she sees me putting my shoes on, she takes them off and throws them in the cupboard.

"She has no sense of danger and is never allowed outside on her own. She would just wander on to the road. Her life is in the house unless we go out with her and it has to be something that benefits Shannen or it is just a nightmare. This isn't always good for Nicole, either."

Shannen is getting better and better every day and brings her family a lot of joy. But they worry about when she gets older.

"I would never say to people that their children shouldn't be vaccinated, but at the end of the day the triple jab is better than nothing," said her mother.

"If I have to pay for single vaccines I will pay, but I don't think people should have to. Some people don't have £280. They should have the choice."

- May 1st