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May 12, 2008 5:08 pm US/Eastern
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Mom Focuses On Son As Autism Fight Goes To Court
SOUTHBOROUGH (WBZ) ―
Harrison Shaffer is a student at the New England Center for Children, a private, non-profit autism education center in Southborough.
His mother, Linda, is thinking more about his future than what causes autism, the disability that limits his development and speech. "He already has autism. Nothing's going to change that. We are focusing on his quality of life and bettering it."
Linda is not part of the autism legal battle that includes nearly 4,900 families who contend thimerosal -- a mercury-based preservative in vaccines -- caused autism and other problems. But in 2004, the Institute of Medicine found no credible evidence to support that contention.
Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines in recent years. "And since that point in time, the prevalence rates of autism have continued to rise, which is counter to the idea that thimerosal is causing autism," explains Dr. Bill Ahern, Director of the New England Center for Children Research.
At the New England Center for Children, the focus is not so much on causes, who or what's to blame, but on treatment and education. "There's so much more we could be doing with the time and energy and particularly the money that's being spent on these hypotheses," said Dr. Ahern.
"I believe it's a number of things; environmental, genetics, perhaps the vaccinations," said Linda Shaffer. "I think if we focus in too many areas, we would lose sight of what we, as a family, are trying to achieve for our son."
When Harrison, who is 9, came to the center three years ago, he had an 18-month-old skill level. It's now equal to that of a 5-year-old, and his mother hopes someday he'll be able to go to college.
She says she cannot be consumed by the legal battle now underway.
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