In CA the Autism Rate Doubles in 4 Years

[southern_sweets]

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Autism cases in California nearly doubled over the past four years to more than 20,000 -- a phenomenon whose cause may be difficult to pinpoint because it is not related to population increases or the way the disorder is diagnosed, a state study said on Tuesday.



The study, conducted by the California Department of Developmental Services, tracked the number of autism cases referred to 21 regional centers where patients and their families receive government-funded services.


The report showed that the agency's caseload increased 97 percent -- from 10,360 in December 1998 to 20,337 four years later.


Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that primarily strikes boys, impairing their ability to communicate, interact and emotionally bond with others. Once a rare disorder, autism now is more prevalent than childhood cancer, diabetes and Down syndrome, the study's author, Dr. Ron Huff, said.


The spectacular rate of increase for autism dwarfs rises of 35 percent to 49 percent for new cases of mental retardation, cerebral palsy and epilepsy in California, he said.


"We are convinced that this is for real," Huff said. "It has to be taken seriously." Huff's study was a follow-up to an earlier report ordered by California lawmakers that showed a 273 percent rise in autism cases statewide between 1987 to 1998.


"All through the 1970s to the mid-1980s, we were looking at a couple of hundred (autistic) kids each year," Huff said. "Over the next decade we were looking at thousands of new cases each year. Parents were reporting anecdotally that there were a lot more of these kids out there that anyone believed."


A parallel study, funded by the state and conducted at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, showed that the dramatic increases in California's autism caseload were not due to changes in population or reporting criteria.


"The study has proven two very clear things: the validity of the diagnosis has not changed and the kids are not moving to California for the services," the study's author, Dr. Marian Sigman, said. "That still leaves us with the puzzle of why are we getting this increase in number of cases."


Preliminary results of a study commissioned by the Department of Developmental Services found high levels of a naturally occurring protein in the blood of newborns who later developed autism, Huff said. That study's conclusions are due in about three years, he said.


While California has excellent services for children with autism, Texas is one of the worst states for providing for these children. We rank 48th in our expenditures per child diagnosed with a disability and provides no teacher training for autism spectrum disorders.

This link is a great short explanation of austim from the Autism Society of North Carolina