CURRENT
NEWS
First
lady turning attention to
autism
A
sad reality as an epidemic
is ignored
With the CDC’s latest
report about the numbers of
autism cases being much higher
than before thought,the news
media ignores this epidemic.
(continued below)
U.S. Says Autism Rate About
1 in 150
By MIKE STOBBE : AP Medical
Writer
Feb 8, 2007 : 8:52 pm ET
ATLANTA -- About one in
150 American children has
autism, U.S. health
officials said Thursday,
calling the troubling disorder
an urgent
public health concern that
is more common than they
had thought.
The new numbers are based
on the largest, most convincing
study done
so far in the United States,
and trump previous estimates
that placed
the prevalence at 1 in 166.
The difference means roughly
50,000 more children and
young adults may
have autism and related disorders
than was previously thought
-- a
total nationwide of more
than half a million people.
Advocates said the study
provides a sad new understanding
of autism's
burden on society, and should
fuel efforts to get the government
to
spend hundreds of millions
of additional dollars for
autism research
and services.
"This
data today show we're going
to need more early intervention
services and more therapists,
and we're going to need federal
and
state legislators to stand
up for these families," said
Alison Singer,
spokeswoman for Autism Speaks,
the nation's largest organization
advocating services for autistic
children.
The study by the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
was
based on 2002 data from 14
states. It calculated an
average autism
rate 6.6 per 1,000, compared
to an estimate last year
of 5.5 in 1,000.
"Autism is more common
than we believed," said
Catherine Rice, a CDC
behavioral scientist who
was the study's lead author.
The research was based on
2002 data from all or part
of 14 states. It
involved an intense review
of medical and school records
for children
and gives the clearest picture
yet of how common autism
is in some
parts of the country, CDC
officials said.
The results suggest 560,000
children and young adults
have the condition.
However, the study population
is not demographically representative
of
the nation as a whole, so
officials cautioned against
using the
results as a national average.
The study doesn't include
some of the
most populous states like
California, Texas and Florida.
Also, the study does not
answer whether autism has
recently been on
the rise -- a controversial
topic, driven in part by
the contention of
some parents and advocates
that it is linked to a vaccine
preservative. The best scientific
studies have not borne out
that
claim.
"We can't make conclusions
about trends yet," because
the study's
database is too new, Rice
said.
Autism is a complex disorder
usually not diagnosed in
children until
after age 3. It is characterized
by a range of behaviors,
including
difficulty in expressing
needs and inability to socialize.
The cause
is not known.
Scientists have been revising
how common they think the
disorder is.
Past lower estimates were
based on smaller studies.
The study released
Thursday is one of the first
scientific papers to come
out of a more
authoritative way of measuring
it.
"This is a more accurate
rate because of the methods
they used," said
Dr. Eric Hollander, an autism
expert at New York's Mount
Sinai School
of Medicine.
The study involved 2002
data from parts or all of
14 states --
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
Colorado, Georgia, Maryland,
Missouri, New
Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Utah, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
Researchers looked specifically
at children who were 8 years
old
because most autistic kids
are diagnosed by that age.
The researchers
checked health records in
each area and school records
when available,
looking for children who
met diagnostic criteria for
autism. They used
those numbers to calculate
a prevalence rate for each
study area.
Included were autism-linked
conditions like Asperger
disorder, which
some experts say might partly
account for the higher rate.
Dr. Fred Volkmar, director
of the Child Study Center
at Yale
University, said the educational
records researchers relied
on in some
states may be misleading.
Sometimes, if a child has
problems that seem
like autism, parents will
push for an autism label
to get additional
educational services, he
said.
Rates varied dramatically
among states, in some cases.
The rate was
3.3 per 1,000 in the northeastern
Alabama study area and 10.6
per
1,000 in the Newark, N.J.,
metro area.
Researchers say they don't
know why the rate was so
high in New
Jersey. They think the Alabama
rate was low partly because
of limited
access to special education
records.
The study was not an effort
to find the cause of autism,
still a point
of debate. While many advocacy
groups blame the vaccine
preservative
thimerosal, scientists are
putting more focus on possible
genetic
causes, according to a recent
Stanford University study.
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A sad reality as an epidemic
is ignored
Alan E. Moses
February 11, 2007
Source: American Chronicle,
With the
CDC’s latest
report about the numbers
of autism cases being much
higher than before thought,the
news media ignores this epidemic.
Television news stations
devote two days to the death
of a celebrity. Anna Nicole
Smith’s death is somehow
the most important topic
of discussion.
There are no questions as
to why this two part study
is almost 12 years old? No
one is asking why this study
could not have been compiled
with more recent data? Why
again they used data from
six states then 14? I as
many others would like to
know the true numbers and
not a purposely watered down
and out of date version.
What is the ratio of those
born in 1992 compared to
those born in 1999? I believe
then we would be blown away
by the increase.
But
then again I am not sure
that the CDC really wants
this information to be
released at this point.
And because autism has higher
rates among males I would
have liked that ratio to
have been released. As of
now 1 in 150 just doesn’t
seem that bad to most.
As with most parents in
the autism community I have
been shunned as overly emotional
about this subject. Politicians,
medical professionals, school
administrators, teachers
as well as family and friends
all seem to ignore our plea.
We are looked at as crazy
and so that is why our kids
are like they are.
There
isn’t even a
true understanding that ADD
along with many of the other
related alphabet set of diagnoses
in all reality appear to
be sharing some symptoms.
All are treated as solely
psychiatric disorders and
not biological.
Being one of many parents
I have a justified belief
that the cause of these disorders
is environmentally related.
I have had to endure many
negative reactions from the
people and agencies that
I believed would have the
most concern. Many times
I have felt as if I was alone
and just spinning my wheels
as nobody cares.
Then
I come to the realization
that I am far from alone.
All I do is reflect about
the conversations that I
have with others. Many of
them are dealing with having
to rely on anti-depressants
and a son using meds for
ADD along with daughters
that suffer from asthma.
And when you include the
grandparents dealing with
Parkinson’s and or
Alzheimer’s you begin
to see a pattern.
Does no one notice that
it seems as though almost
everyone has some form of
auto-immune or neurological
disorder? Imagine going to
sleep in 1979 and waking
up in 2007.
You
would be thinking “Oh
my God, What is going on
here?” There comes
a time for a reality check.
I
can’t help but remember
the Love Canal tragedy. I
also remember how it was
dealt with. It just quietly
went away as no blame was
given and those that suffered
were not even offered sympathy.
I just fear that we are attempting
to do the same now. The problem
is that we have no place
to hide anymore.
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