江蘇海安   周瑞莲   供稿

__Russell Rollins was a perfect， healthy， happy baby until he was 15 months old. Then he got his first vaccine shot. Hes never been the same since.

That was ten years ago. Russell had a very strong reaction to the vaccines. He screamed and cried loud for days. After that， he seemed to have no energy or interest in anything. He became autistic.

Autism makes it harder for children to learn and understand new things. Autistic children have a very hard time dealing with changes in their lives. They often repeat the same sounds over and over， and are not very interested in talking to other people. Many autistic children even try to avoid looking at other people.

Being the parent of an autistic child is so painful and difficult that Russells father said “... its a living hell”. And he knows his son suffers much more than he does.

School is very hard for autistic kids. They need a lot of extra help and support. The teacher at one school for autistic children said that the number of autistic students is rising. Ten years ago， about one in 10，000 children became autistic. Now as many as one in every 250 children become autistic. Many parents want to know what is causing this problem. But no one has the answers yet.

Rick Rollins thinks vaccine is connected. He said， “Thirty-three percent of new families with children with autism believe the vaccine played a part in the development of their childs autism.” But a recent study in Denmark found no links between vaccinations and autism. Robert Byrd is a childrens doctor in the United States who studies the causes of diseases. He doesnt believe the vaccine is a problem.

Russell Rollins father knows vaccines are only one possible cause of autism. But no matter what the cause， Rick Rollins worries about his sons future. His son may never be able to take care of himself， even when he is an adult.

“Who is going to take care of him when we are gone？” asks Rick Rollins.