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February 9, 2007
BY MIKE STOBBE Associated Press
ATLANTA -- About one in 150 American children has autism, an urgent public health concern, said U.S. health officials Thursday who reported on the largest study done so far on the troubling disorder.
The new numbers, based on 2002 data from 14 states, are higher than previously reported.
Advocates said the study provides a sad new understanding of how common autism is, and should fuel efforts to get the government to spend hundreds of millions of additional dollars for autism research and services.
"This data today shows 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 more services for autistic children.
The study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated an average autism rate 6.6 per 1,000. That compares with last year's estimated rate of 5.5 in 1,000...
Something is wrong with these stats, going to see if I can find the 'study'...
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/249945,3_1_EL09_A7AUTISM_S1.article
Found the study here-link top right corner to pdf:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/
Best I can tell so far, they've decided it rates right below mental retardation for threat to our 'children.' Seems they've decided to 'change the definition of autism,' which many of us in education noted a few years ago with 'Asperger's' suddenly added to 'watch for.' They've expanded the 'label' to include 'children who have difficulty making and keeping friends.'
Now autism is a tragedy when it strikes a child. The need for intervention is acute, time and financially expensive. I can understand the parents wanting more funding, but this is just a sham way of doing it.
Actually, I have a fcouple of riends (one in NJ, come to think of it) whose kid has Apsbergers. There is nothing about it which can be confused with awkwardness. It's a very real set of symptomology and onset is often very noticeable. There are theories that the mercury in innoculations contributes to autism, but there is mixed evidence on that right now.
Personally, I think ADHD is way over overdiagnosed. And that may be the case with autism. But simply discounting the numbers because you thnik they're *off* doesn't make for a convincing position.
Darwin's Friend:
we're not talking about not every kid excelling. We're talking about an escalating problem. Is it escalating because it's being overdiagnosed like ADHD? Might be. On the other hand it might be that we're doing something to our environment that is contributing (notice I didn't say "causing") to the numbers. I just think we should look at the circumstances before dismissing it out of hand.
Darwin's Friend:
we're not talking about not every kid excelling. We're talking about an escalating problem. Is it escalating because it's being overdiagnosed like ADHD? Might be. On the other hand it might be that we're doing something to our environment that is contributing (notice I didn't say "causing") to the numbers. I just think we should look at the circumstances before dismissing it out of hand.
I attended a business course and one of the participant was a expert on aspegers he would charge 500 dollars to do a 2 HR assessment then sign a form confirming aspergers, then the parents could get insurance coverage for treatment which included 125 dollars week for a 1 hour visit from the expert.
he was not MD .when i asked him to describe mild to moderate autism he was very vague in his descriptions i had to replied "when i was a kid we called that someones personality" when i asked how much he could determined in a 2 HR visit with the child and the parents he said" by the time the mums and dads call me they have pretty much figured it out for themselves and he just there to confirm "he also claimed to be able to diagnosis's as early as 16 months and since there has become a greater awarness and better insurance coverage the diagnosed cases have risen dramatical, if you do the math on 20 children thats 10,000 a yr for 40 hrs work and a additional 6000 per year per child 130.000 a year for a business with little overhead run from his apt
it seems to me there is a big incentive to sign the insurance papers confirming the diagnoses
I got an invite to a 'conference' on Asperger's today. $350 for teachers, to recognize the 'symptoms' and how to approach parents to get further testing.
Teachers are not doctors. It is wrong for teachers to diagnos kids. In this case, the education community from the top down is trying to 'educate' teachers into making recommendations to parents to get a diagnosis from pediatrician. This is 'hyperactivity' of late 2000's. It's wrong and way too broad.
Yes and the dollars we are talking here are at the bottom of this money tree
I think the worst part was the claim that one of the most beneficial parts of getting a diagnoses is the parents reassurance they are not bad parents . I wonder what nanny 911 would have to say about that
I heard that report. I doubt there's anything "wrong" with the stats. I'm fairly certain it's environmental given that NJ, with it's pockets of industry and pollution has the highest autism rate in the country.
Why would we think all the garbage we put into our air and water wouldn't have an effect?
You're correct on the absolving parents part. Problem is, they want it classified as a defect of the individual, making them forever an obligation of the state. Truth is, many of these kids are just immature, some are oppositional, others truly defiant. Asperger's itself may or may not be a true syndrome, but currently reminds me of global warming. Lots of consensus, little science.
Well i am sure it wont surprise you that I feel both are brought to you by the same people and both are parts of one overall agenda ,one to have more compliant population thought control and state parenthood the other to tax .steal land to later privatize ,to corporate control air ,water ,sunshine
and these people are not shadowy figures its the UN , the world health organization ,cfr .tri lateral commission, they have in fact stated these goals
they just try to make it sound like its a good thing
Please everyone note, on this thread there was some 'playing' with my spelling, thus quotes. In one 'quote' to me, I'm referred to as 'Kathrine', not quite...
the responsible poster has been put on notice.
To all, it's not ok to 'quote' and change.
That may be true about 1944, but the serious increase in diagnosis is in the past 5 years, at the most. It makes ADHD look underdiagnosed.The problem is that there is a large spectrum of autism-style mental defectiveness from very severe to very mild.
One can easily increase or decrease the number of autism cases by choosing which parts of the spectrum count as autism.
So 1:150 is somewhat believable if you include everything (Kanner, Asperger, PDD-NOS and CDD) and are a bit 'generous' when making a diagnosis.
To further complicate things, the combination of being both retarded and suffering from something in the autistic spectrum is more common than only having something in the autistic spectrum.
The notion that Asperger Syndrome exists goes back to 1944 so it isn't a new diagnosis.
