. >> i don't know where we would be withouthim, because no one would lten to us before him. >> reporterng of a hero to parents of children with the developmental disorder autism. >> i'm just your biggest fan. >> reporter: but at the same time, he has outraged the medical establishment. do you think he's done a lot of damage? >> i think thisan has done a tremendous amount harm, and it amazes me that he doesn't accept the responsibility for that harm. >> reporter: in 1998, dr. wakefield was considered a rising star, practicingere at london's royal free hospital. and th he published a study in the "lancet," a prestigious medical journal, suggesting a possible link between the mmr -- a combination vaccine given to children to prents meez alwaasm mumps and rubella -- and autism. what do you remember about the headlines after the conference? >> the headlines are always dramatic. headlines in some papers we, you know, vaccine linked to autism. now, i didn't know, i didn't ha t proof, so my concern was t get the correct message out then. >> rorter: and so, dr. wakefield counseled parents not to