Our Autism Story: ‘My Son’s Sensory System Was on Overload From the Moment of Birth’

By Susan Whitcomb

Editor’s note: In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, we invited members of the CHD community to submit their personal stories about autism, and how it has affected them and their families.

My son Christopher was born in November of 1982, a footling breech delivered one month early by C-section. He appeared healthy in size and weight, but his sensory system was on overload from the moment of birth.

He developed fairly normally in motor skills, but he was challenged with sensitivities to foods, lights, temperature and touch. He cried (or rather screeched) for the first several months of his life.

His father left us when Chris was 18 months. He said he couldn’t stand the screeching.

Chris showed a delay in speech development and was overwhelmed being around more than a few people at a time. He went to the local elementary school, but by age 9 the teachers were noticing behavior problems. At that point, he was diagnosed as having an overprotective Mom.

Personally, I was too exhausted and overwhelmed to be overprotective. I then made an appointment for Chris to see Dr. Margaret Bauman at Boston Children’s Hospital where she diagnosed him with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Such diagnoses were mostly unheard of at the time, and the schools were not prepared to support them. I needed to file Due Process with our town for them to realize that this was “a thing.” With the help of our local Disabilities Rights Center and their legal team, we were able to settle out of court.

The town sent Chris to a small local school for children with ADHD. While it wasn’t the best fit for him, it was all that was available at the time, and I was grateful.

This school’s education ended at grade 10, so I needed to find him courses at a local vocational school and an Adult Learning Center for his remaining credits to graduate with a high school diploma, which he did at age 18.

While Chris’ disability is not physically apparent, most people expect more from him than is realistic. I never wanted Chris to “fill the shoes” of a diagnosis, so I always approached his developmental stages as being a “normal” child who may just appear a little quirky.

He worked at a few jobs after graduation, but they never lasted long as he had difficulty trying to keep up with coworkers on the job and handling the social aspect of working.

I feel very fortunate that Chris’ disability is far more mild than so many others with autism. In  Chris’ case though, I feel strongly that vaccinations did not play a part (at least not initially) in his diagnosis. I can’t say that childhood vaccines did not make things worse, however, and I suspect that they may have.

At the moment of birth it was obvious to me as Chris arrived screeching from sensory overload. When I’ve had the opportunity to complete questionnaires on autism and its relation to vaccines, there was not an opportunity to indicate that I believe my son developed in utero with autism.

I suspect that I may have had environmental exposures or perhaps my own vaccinations (born in 1951) that contributed to my son’s autism?

It is my hope that we will look at all possibilities as a potential cause. Autism is not natural.

May I also include that my sister, born in 1956, was born a perfectly healthy baby until her first polio vaccine at age 3 months.

For the second polio vaccine a few months later, the doctors gave her something to make her more comfortable. Rather than connecting her severe initial reaction to the injections, they just continued on.

From the day of that second vaccine, she became epileptic and had a compromised immune system, involving many hospitalizations.

She never cognitively developed fully and spent her short life from the age of 3 years, at a state institution until she passed at the age of 36, with the mentality of a 5-year-old.

Thank you for the opportunity to also give a voice for my baby sister.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children’s Health Defense.

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