I often get asked why I think Hayden has autism or what caused it. This is such a complex question that does not have a simple answer. So here is my answer. Keep in mind this is my opinion on why MY son has autism.
When I first became pregnant with Hayden I prayed to God frequently to just let me have this baby. We suffered a miscarriage 6 months prior to getting pregnant with Hayden. I told God that I didn't care what the gender was and if the baby was not healthy I was okay with that. I told him that we would love and cherish whatever kind of child he wanted to bless us with.
When I pregnant with Hayden I ate anything and everything!! I craved chicken McNuggets like it was nobodies business. As much as I don't want to admit this there were days that I ate McDonalds twice a day. I thought it was fine I took my vitamins, I ate my fruits and veggies, and I stayed away from everything that pregnant women are not suppose to consume. This was before I valued nutrition and quality of food.
Hayden was born by a very emergent c-section due to a prolapsed umbilical cord. The dr did my c-section in his "street" clothes and a pair of sterile gloves. From the time that Hayden's umbilical cord prolapsed and the time he was ripped from my abdomen was 6 minutes!! I was pumped full of antibiotics after his delivery. Hayden then received those antibiotics via my breast milk. Thus destroying the help full bacteria that was forming in his little body. I still get chills when I think of Hayden's delivery. He scared the crap out of me and everyone else for that matter. At my follow up post op appointment. My OB compared my c-section to civil war style surgery.
The next mistake I made was feeding Hayden solids too soon. I started feeding him rice cereal at 4 months. He was not ready for it, he had no interest in it and he sure did not need those empty calories. Why the heck did I do that? I did NOT make this mistake with my daughter. His poor little gut was not ready for it and I had no clue the misery I was going to cause him and continue to cause him via the crap that I fed him.
At six months of age Hayden got "sick" for the first time. He was also cutting his first teeth (he got 4 at once). His poor little cheeks broke out horribly. Our dr said this was caused by teething and that it will go away on its on. When Hayden was examined by the dr he said that Hayden's throat was "raw" and put him on antibiotics. Looking back the cheeks and the "raw" throat was Hayden's first allergic reaction. We started feeding him strawberry baby food around that time and come to find out strawberries are one of the many things he is allergic to. His poor little cheeks did not clear up until the age of 9 months and that was with steroid cream.
Hayden remained "healthy" until about 13 months of age and that is when his health started to go downhill. This is also when we started giving him cow's milk. Casein is a HUGE allergy for Hayden. I firmly believe that food allergies have contributed to my son's autism. Not only has it cause inflammation in his little gut, but has caused major inflammation in is neurological system.
Hayden continued to be sickly until the age of 28 months. He was on antibiotics 6 more times and most of those times they were not needed. He had an acute asthma attack at 15 months and was in the PICU for 2 days. Hayden was put on some massive steroids at this time.
I also believe that vaccinations have contributed to Hayden's autism. His poor little body did not know what to do with all those toxins that entered his body. I thought I was "smart" about vaccinations. I did massive research about them and came up with an alternative vaccination schedule for Hayden. Oh, how I had no clue!! A day after Hayden received his 18 month vaccinations was the day that my little boy went silent. (well with the exception of temper tantrums......we hear those pretty much all day long) I did not hear his sweet voice again until he was 28 months old.
The number one factor that I think has contributed to Hayden's autism is genetics!! We have since found out that Hayden has several genetic disorders. The first effecting his bodies ability to break down and process amino acids which has caused my poor little guy to be severely vitamin deficient. The second genetic mutation that he has effects his ability to detox toxins from his body and products of oxidative stress. The third and final mutation also prevents Hayden's body from ridding itself of oxidative stress and impairs the function of his mitochondria.
So the short answer is environment, vaccination, nutrition, and genetics have caused my sons autism.
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