News & View Headlines
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- The World According to Robertus Maximus: A swipe at the Right Wing Nut
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| The Autism Puzzle |
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 Some people are callling the spike in autism cases an epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has called the increase in autism cases “an urgent public concern.”But is anyone paying attention? As one autism mother/activist put it, “If these increased rates were for cancer, everybody would be concerned.” On Dec. 18 the CDC announced in its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report that autism diagnoses had jumped 57% between 2002 and 2006. “These results indicate an increased prevalence of identified ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders) among U.S. children aged 8 years and underscore the need to regard ASDs as an urgent public health concern,” the report stated. The CDC report was based on figures collected from samples in 11 states, including Wisconsin. The number of autism cases average out to 1% of American children – or 1 in every 110 child, or if you’re a boy, 1 in 70. One researcher at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said the Fox Valley apppears to have a “critical mass of people” afffected by autism. Seltzer and the Waisman Center have developed a relationship with the Appleton Education Foundation. “We’ve been coming up the last few years to give public lectures,” she said. “The Fox Valley has a cluster. It seems like a high prevalence area, but from an epidemeological point, I don’t know if that’s true. There certainly is a critical mass of people who are affected in your area.” Some pooh-pooh the “epidemic” label, saying the higher numbers are due to milder forms such as Asperger’s Syndrome being folded into the sprectrum of disorders, better diagnostic techniques and greater awareness about the disorder, but those naysayers must not have read the CDC report, which stated: “Although some of these increases can be accounted for by improved identification and awareness, the steady increase in ASD symptoms in the population possibly reflects increased risk, particularly among males.” The great mystery is what is causing this wide-ranging disorder in so many children? “That’s the million dollar question,” said Dr. Leeann Smith, an autism researcher at the Waisman Center. “It would be really nice if we could say it’s just one thing, but there are probably multiple factors. It could be multiple genes and their interactions. And that still doesn’t explain everything.” “We know that autism is largely inherited,” said Dr. Glen Sallows, co-founder of the Wisconsin Early Autism Project. “There could be an environmental factor that affects one more than another. The current theory is that it’s a disorder in brain development before birth. By the time they’re born, there’s something already wrong but it isn’t obvious until they get a little older.” There are many, theories about the cause of autism – childhood vaccinations, pollution, diet, food additives, vitamin deficiencies, household chemicals, fire retardants used on carpets and furniture and more – but basing treatment on unfounded theories is a mistake, researchers say. “The vaccines have pretty much been disproven by the medical community as causing autism even though many proponents of supplements continue to maintain that,” Sallows said. “There is a tenacity to the belief that there is a mystery about autism and if we could only unlock the true child inside. That’s not going to help families or the individual with autism move on and have a high quality of life. What we have to do is help families reorient to what’s under their control right now,” said Seltzer. “We believe autism is a complex genetic disorder,” she said. “The genetics of it have not yet been discovered. I tell families this: You’ve given your child all sorts of wonderful genes and some that are causing some problems. But it’s not all about that one gene. It’s a constellation of strengths and weaknesses passed from parent to child.” n |
