Should Autism be Treated Differently?

Gov. Corzine's latest proposal to strengthen services for people with autism has families and advocates cheering, but experts in the wider developmental-disabilities community fear New Jersey is headed toward a two-tiered system favoring one diagnosis.
"Whenever you have 1 in 94 people being affected by anything, you need to get some special attention," said Linda Meyer, executive director of the advocacy group Autism New Jersey.
Autism is a lifelong disability characterized by limits in social interaction and in verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual repetitive activities or severely limited interests.
At Autism New Jersey's annual convention last weekend, Corzine announced plans to open an Office of Autism Services within the state Department of Human Services, the top among 44 recommendations this month by New Jersey's Adults With Autism Task Force.

Autism: Is the Jump Real?

One in a hundred American children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That stunning new statistic was released on Monday by the Federal Government, officially revising the 2007 federal estimate of 1 in 150 children. The new number puts U.S. prevalence on par with reported rates in England, Japan, Sweden and Canada. It is based on two separate and very different government-funded research studies: a telephone survey of 78,037 parents by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and a rigorous national surveillance study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Into the Fray Over the Cause of Autism

“It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children,” Senator John McCain said while campaigning recently in Texas. “The question is, What’s causing it? And we go back and forth, and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.”
With that comment, Mr. McCain marked his entry into one of the most politicized scientific issues in a generation.

Autism epidemic may be all in the label

A few decades ago, people probably would have said kids like Ryan Massey and Eddie Scheuplein were just odd. Or difficult.
Both boys are bright. But Ryan, 11, is hyper and prone to angry outbursts, sometimes trying to strangle another kid in his class who annoys him. Eddie, 7, has a strange habit of sticking his shirt in his mouth and sucking on it.
Both were diagnosed with a form of autism. And it's partly because of children like them that autism appears to be skyrocketing: In the latest estimate, as many as one in 150 children have some form of this disorder. Groups advocating more research money call autism "the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States."

What is the Prevalence of Autism in the United States?

U.S. health officials say autism rate about 1 in 150, higher than previous estimates WASHINGTON — About one in every 150 children in the United States has autism or a closely related disorder — a figure higher than most recent estimates — according to a federal survey released Thursday, the most thorough ever conducted. The new data do not mean that autism is on the rise, because the criteria and definitions used were not the same as those used in the past. But the number of children apparently affected — 560,000 nationwide if the new statistics are extrapolated to all 50 states — makes autism an "urgent public health issue" and a "major public health concern," said Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, chief of the developmental disabilities branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the survey.