The Interesting thing about the continued argument about vaccines is that neither I, nor my brothers and sisters who are on the spectrum were ever vaccinated for anything.
The difference between now and 50 years ago is that autism was just not diagnosed or dealt with 50 years ago. It would be seen as 'mental retardation' back then, as a lady in the church of england called me and another autistic person 'mentally retarded' because the Church is in the dark ages.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2658946/Half-adults-autism-abused-know.html
The fractured story of a survivor of abuse and cover up in the Diocese of Winchester, by a survivor who is too traumatized and ashamed to share her story, but has been forced to fight to be heard.