Fwd: Autism - 1 in 32. Is anybody listening?

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This article will probably be of interest to most of us.

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Autism - 1 in 32. Is anybody listening?

Date:

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:12:19 -0400

From:

Newsletter: US Autism & Asperger Association

Reply-To:

Newsletter: US Autism & Asperger Association

To:

klriley@...

US Autism & Asperger Association

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US Autism & Asperger

Association

April 2, 2012

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Welcome to USAAA WeeklyNews, an email

newsletter that addresses a range of

topics on Autism Spectrum Disorders

including Asperger's Syndrome.

Autism - 1 in 32. Is

anybody listening?

by Lawrence P.

Kaplan, PhD, USAAA founder

Today is Autism

Awareness Day. The definition of

awareness is having or showing

realization or knowledge. You may be

aware that last week the Centers for

Disease Control announced the results of

their Prevalence Study. If you did not

hear the results, you may have been on

vacation or away from any form of media

communication. But while the story of

the results from the 2008 data found

autism rates skyrocketing to 1 in 88

children affected, the real story was

being told in Salt Lake City, Utah,

headquarters for the US Autism &

Asperger Association.

The

headline in the Salt Lake Tribune the

morning following the press conference,

was "1 in 32". That is

the prevalence of autism for boys in Utah.

Also, reported was a 1200% increase in

girls identified in Utah. 1 in 32

is probably more of an accurate number

nationally for boys since many of the

states who participated in the prevalence

study did not have access to data that

should have been accounted for in their

states.

As I

listened to these statistics, during a

briefing at Valley Mental Health's Carmen

B. Pingree School for Children with Autism

in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 29, 2012, I

wasn't surprised. I was angry. I've seen

the over-crowded classrooms of children

affected by autism during the last twenty

years. I have spoken with thousands of

parents nationally and worldwide who have

been pleading for better services and

support in their communities. And these

same parents, grandparents, siblings,

aunts, uncles and everyone whose lives

have been affected with autism have been

asking the same question for years - what

will it take to recognize that autism is a

national public health emergency.

"I was angry.

I've seen the over-crowded

classrooms of children affected

by autism during the last twenty

years."

My wife and I, our

children and family members have lived

this everyday for the past twenty years.

We have heard the same arguments over and

over - better diagnosis, better awareness,

and expanded criteria in defining autism.

The core deficits of autism are

communication, social interaction and

stereotyped behaviors. They haven't

changed. I can recognize these deficits in

children, and I am not a even a medical

doctor.

"What happens to

our kids when they become

adults? There aren't any plans

for our kids as they enter into

adulthood."

Of the many articles

written on Friday, March 30, 2012 and

subsequent articles since then, there is

something missing that is very disturbing

to me. What happens to our kids when they

become adults? This is a topic that

concerns me as my son and thousands of

other young adults "age out of" and leave

the public school system in the next two

years only to go....WHERE? There aren't

any plans for our kids as they enter into

adulthood. Hundreds of thousands of

families will be affected. Children that

have parents working full time, single

parents, and no parents. What will happen

to our children when we are gone? We have

discussed this dilemma for the past

seventeen years. And here it is, seventeen

years later, and nothing has been done to

address this problem.

1 in 32.

In 2009 it was reported

by University of California scientists

that California's sevenfold increase

in autism could not be explained by

changes in doctors' diagnoses. Dr.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto,

an epidemiology professor at University of

California, led the study. "A shift

toward younger age at diagnosis and

doctors diagnosing milder cases combined

doesn't "get us close" to the 600% to 700%

increase in diagnosed cases," said Dr.

Hertz-Picciotto. (Environmental Health

News).

"A shift toward

younger age at diagnosis and

doctors diagnosing milder cases

combined doesn't "get us close"

to the 600% to 700% increase in

diagnosed cases," said Dr.

Hertz-Picciotto.

"It's time to start

looking for the environmental culprits

responsible for the remarkable increase in

the rate of autism", said Dr.

Hertz-Picciotto." Was anybody listening in

2009? Dr. Hertz-Picciotto's study was

three years ago and the rates have jumped

exponentially. Recent research from

Stanford University conclusively shows

that environmental triggers account for

most cases of autism, not genetic

predisposition.

Dr. Bernard Weiss, a

professor of environmental medicine and

pediatrics at the University of Rochester

Medical Center who was not involved in the

new research, said the autism rate

reported in the study "seems astonishing."

He agreed that environmental causes should

be getting more attention. (Environmental

Health News). Dr. Weiss said "excessive

emphasis has been placed on genetics as a

cause."

"The autism rate

reported in the study "seems

astonishing. Excessive

emphasis has been placed on

genetics as a cause."

Dr. Bernard Weiss,

University of Rochester Medical

Center

As I left the press

conference, I was trying to comprehend as

why many of the guests were smiling. The

parents I knew who were there were not

smiling. It was not a day to be

celebrating.

1

in 32.

Is anybody listening?

Awareness - maybe. Action - that is what

is needed. PLEASE. Get involved. Your

voices matter.

Stay tuned for more

serious and troubling news. I will be

presenting information regarding the

proposed DSM-5 later this month at Utah

Valley University and also at the USAAA World 2012

Conference September 6-9 in Denver,

Colorado.

To leave comments, go

to our Blog.

USAAA 2012 World

Conference

Over thirty-five of the

world leading autism experts,

including Dr. Temple Grandin and

Dr. Martha Herbert,

discuss new treatment regimes and

effective therapies in many areas. These

topics include medical/biomedical,

educational, behavioral and developmental

evidence-based interventions. USAAA is

introducing a special cooking and

nutrition session and also featuring

a special educators session on

Friday, September 7.

Exhibitors

and Sponsors, contact Pat at

1-.

Dr. Temple

Grandin and Dr. Martha Herbert will

discuss their new books. There will be a

special event with Dr. Grandin that has

never been presented at any conference.

SCHEDULE

AND PRESENTATIONS - The

conference features keynote presentations

and three separate breakout sessions on

Friday and Saturday (Thursday night and

Sunday morning are included in the full

conference registration pass), along with

a special educators

track on Friday with an

opportunity for all educators to share

what works in their classrooms with others

in a special breakout session. Another

special track includes medical/biomedical.

More breakout sessions include topics on

the Continuums of Cognition and Sensory

Processing, Asperger's Syndrome, ADD,

ADHD, Twice-Exceptional, adult challenges,

severe autism, life challenges, jobs,

college, cutting edge research, siblings,

legal issues, IEP's, preparing for the

future, nutrition and wellness,

self-advocacy, support services, verbal

behavior, technology (apps, etc.), opening

up new opportunities, plus much more.

Registration will be

available this week. Sponsors and

Exhibitors should contact Pat at

1- to exhibit or sponsor. Reserve your booth

now!

FULL STORY

To leave comments, go

to our Blog.

Join us on

In this issue:

Autism - 1 in 32. Is

anybody listening?

2012 USAAA World

Conference - September 6-9, Denver,

Colorado

Upcoming

Conference

2012 USAAA World

Conference - September 6-9, Denver,

Colorado

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