Autism

There’s been a lot of talk about Autism; April 2 was World Autism Awareness Day. In 2011 we heard anywhere from 1 in 38 and 1 in 150 people showed signs of Autism. Parents blamed vaccinations (on November 28, 2011 the Associated Press said 1 in 20 kindergarten kids are not vaccinated), and food (tried gluten free-removed wheat-diets), and added oxygen as well as tried medical marijuana to help their children function. Doctors got upset and some said if parents do not get their children vaccinated, they’ll have to seek medical help elsewhere and parents felt that the American Academy of Pediatrics needed to be more compassionate instead of taking such a steadfast stand that vaccinations don’t cause Autism. The National Academy for Sciences came out saying it concluded that vaccines are generally safe for most people and dismissed concerns that they are linked to Autism. We know that without the shots many people would be contagious and die and some children are allergic to the shots. However, Americans are vaccinated for more diseases than Europeans. Back in the 1980s US kids were vaccinated for 7 diseases, now they’re vaccinated for 16 (36 shots) and the cases of Autism has grown. An April 2009 report by Generation Rescue said the average number of shots for the other 29 countries in their study was 18 shots and they had lower Autism and mortality rates for kids under age 5 than the US. Perhaps our shots need to be spaced out more and/or it’s overkill for newborns to be given shots for Hepatitis B.

In 2011 the results of 2 studies reported that researchers found that environmental factors, including those in the womb, a mother’s age at childbirth and a mother’s use of anti-depressants (SSRIs) as well as stress, diet, and infections may cause Autism. It was also said that the cause is 100s of genetic mutations but the speculation surrounding this disposition is varied. And a new study showed that 1 in 5 children with an autistic older sibling would develop the disorder indicating that it’s caused by genetics. On October 17 a study linked Autism to low birth weight. And it was reported that more than 10% of American children age 1 – 6 have some form of Pica, a condition that has them craving non food items (cardboard, light bulbs, toilet paper) to eat; it was also said Pica can be a symptom of Autism and most children do grow out of Pica.

On January 20, 2012 it was reported that the definition of Autism may change and reduce the number diagnosed. People with awkward movements, inability to relate to people and obsessive behavior have been used for the last 17 or more years. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has right now signs of autism as: a preoccupation with objects, inability to keep eye contact, difficulty holding a conversation, a preoccupation with dates or phone numbers, insistence on following routines, rocking/dipping/swaying and a person only had to display some of them. Under the change they need to display almost all of them. Looking back at the 90s almost half would not be classified and Aspergers would be removed altogether. With numbers rising in the last 2 decades, the scientists became aware that the labels they were using and the way they were counting were often inconsistent, often imprecise and sloppily applied. The CDC’s panel of psychiatrists is proposing that the definition of Autism be improved and the diagnosis be made standard (use a check list). People with children having Aspergers are worried that won’t get special services. Dr. Besser said we need to remove Autism from being tied to a service (child in California may be diagnosed while one in Ohio is not), he also said there’s a lot of research being done and they can’t figure out what causes it until they get the same group of people to study; services need to be tied to the child’s needs (e.g. speech therapy should be given for those with speech problems); a proper diagnosis is needed for adequate treatment and there’ll be time to review data before the proposals are finalized. On March 29 per the CDC 1 in 110 in 2006 and 1 in 88 in 2008 were diagnosed with autism; boys are 5 times more likely to have it than girls and kids are getting treatment at an earlier age (18 months) and see improvement in 4 – 6 months; doctors say there is more awareness and more cases; they don’t understand the increase because they don’t know what causes it; Dr. Besser says kids should be making eye contact at 6 months, respond to their names being called at one year and pull in not turn away when you hold them, and should play pretend games at 18 months. On April 5 it was reported that a study found that genetic mutation and the age of parents (particularly the father) are key clues to autism; dads over 50 (accounted for 5% of those studied) are twice as likely as dads under 30 to have an autistic child (it’s already known that parents age increases the risk of having a child with Down Syndrome, bipolar and schizophrenia). On April 9 it was reported the Journal of Pediatrics published a study of 500 California women that found obese women are 60% more likely to deliver an Autistic child. And on the View I heard a doctor say that your stomach could be causing autism.

I do believe that because standards for assigning a diagnosis were lowered that more people are now diagnosed with Autism. I also believe with so many having Autism that we should be able to find the mutant gene or whatever to treat it. All these doctors with different opinions need to get together instead of doing separate studies. With the so-called numbers and excuses we have for people not being able to be responsible for their actions and/or performance we’ll have no one to live without special treatment or pay taxes. The US needs to work more with other countries to determine why our Autism rate is higher than that of other countries.