Autism
Original Air Date: 2/25/2010
Autism
Imagine a condition that affects one percent of all eight-year-olds in the United States. There is no vaccine, no cure, diagnosis can be subjective, and the symptoms run a range from mild to debilitating. This is autism, and the number of cases seems to be rising, particularly among boys.
What do we know? Are we making progress? And how can we and our communities help the families and individuals who are dealing with autism?
Guests
Dr. Glenn Tripp – Medical Director of Developmental Services, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
Dr. Tripp has had over 30 years of practicing within the area of pediatrics, with the majority of his practice focusing upon developmental behavioral pediatrics. In the span of his career he has seen the prevalence of autism increase from almost negligible to now well over half of all children in his practice. Dr. Tripp has participated on the AW Autism Task Force and is currently a member of the WA State Combating Autism Advisory Council.
Visit the Mary Bridge website here.
Steve Altabet, Ph.D. - Clinical Director, UW Tacoma Autism Center
Dr. Altabet received his Ph.D. in clinical/school psychology from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. In addition to clinical supervision and administrative activities, he provides diagnostic assessment, behavioral consultation, and psychotherapy services. He began working in the field of developmental disabilities in 1987 as a special education teacher before becoming a school psychologist, and he eventually became a clinical psychologist in 1994. He has focused specifically on autism since 2002, including the design and administration of clinical services in an autism clinic in Tennessee prior to his relocation to UW. Dr. Altabet is a licensed psychologist and specializes in teaching emotional regulation and coping skills.
Visit the UW Tacoma Autism Center website here.
Diana Stadden – Board Member, Autism Society of Tacoma
Along with being a board member for the Autism Society of Tacoma, Diana is a past Executive Director of the Autism Society of Washington (ASW) and is currently on the Professional Advisory Board for the ASW. Diana currently works as the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the Arc of Washington and where she advocates for people with autism and other developmental disorders. She has a 16-year-old son who is autistic. Over the years, Diana has worked as the Parent Coordinator for the Pierce County Coalition for Developmental Disabilities, and previously ran a camp for autistic children.
Visit the Autism Society of Tacoma Facebook page here.
Visit the Autism Society of Washington website here.
Stats and Facts
Learn about the symptoms of autism here.
Learn about local resources for families impacted by autism here.
People with Asperger's syndrome would be included in the same diagnostic group as people with autism and pervasive developmental disorders, according to new guidelines under consideration by the American Psychiatric Association.Psychiatrists are in the process of revising the guidelines, known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The manual has implications for how psychiatric drugs are developed and prescribed, what treatments get covered under insurance plans, which approach doctors take in treating their patients, and how patients view their own identities.
Scientifically, the distinction is correct; the research on people with these conditions has shown that Asperger's is on the mild end of the spectrum of autistic disorders, said Dr. Michael First, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, who worked on the version of the DSM that is currently in use.
Read more here.
Congress passed the Children's Health Act of 2000, legislation that mandated many activities, among them the establishment of a new autism research network—at least five centers of excellence in autism research. In response, the five Institutes of the NIH Autism Coordinating Committee have implemented the Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (STAART) network program. Each center will contribute to the autism research base in the areas of causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment.
Read more here.
One in 70. According to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's how many boys in the United States have autism or a related neurological disorder. Of all children, an average of one in 110 are now on the autism spectrum the new data shows, which translates to roughly one percent of 8-year-olds in the nation.
The data indicates along with the high rate of the disorder in boys, a growing rate in girls -- one in 315 girls have an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Read more here.
The studies' authors noted that it was impossible to pinpoint one reason for the increase in autism. "Although some of the increases are due to better detection, a true increase in risk cannot be ruled out," the researchers noted.
In analyzing the numbers, researchers are wrestling with an important issue: Are there really more autistic children? Or does the growing awareness of the symptoms lead to more diagnoses?
In the autism world, "Aspies" are sometimes seen as the elites, the ones who are socially awkward, yet academically gifted and who embrace their quirkiness.
Now, many Aspies, a nickname for people with Asperger's syndrome, are upset over a proposal they see as an attack on their identity. Under proposed changes to the most widely used diagnostic manual of mental illness, Asperger's syndrome would no longer be a separate diagnosis.
Read more here.
Children who live in the Northwest's wettest counties are more likely to have autism, but it is unclear why. Michael Waldman of Cornell University and colleagues were searching for an environmental link with autism, a condition characterized by learning and social disabilities.
"Autism prevalence rates for school-aged children in California, Oregon, and Washington in 2005 were positively related to the amount of precipitation these counties received from 1987 through 2001," they wrote in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Read more here.
Many children show signs of autism in early infancy. Other children may develop normally for the first few months or years of life but then suddenly become withdrawn, aggressive or lose language skills they've already acquired. Though each child with autism is likely to have a unique pattern of behavior.
Read more here.
The University of Washington CARE Clinic provides diagnostic, treatment and support services for those affected by neurodevelopmental disorders. This includes autism, mental retardation and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Read more here.
The University of Washington Autism Center Research Program, supported by funding from private foundations and the National Institutes for Health, collaborates with families and individuals to conduct research with infants, toddlers, pre-school and school aged children as well as adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Located at the medical center on the University of Washington Seattle campus, the Center was recently recognized as an Autism Center of Excellence by the National Institute for Health. Currently, the Autism Center Research Program is engaged in several national and international collaborations as well as independent projects focusing on research in autism spectrum disorders.
Read more here.
The British doctor whose suggestion of a link between the MMR shot and autism helped cause vaccination rates to plunge conducted his now-discredited research in a dishonest and irresponsible manner, medical authorities concluded.
It was the latest development in a long-running health controversy that has seen measles make a comeback among British children after being all but wiped out.
The General Medical Council, Britain's medical regulator, found that Andrew Wakefield acted unethically in the way he collected blood samples from children and in his failure to disclose payments from lawyers representing parents who believed the vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella -- given as a single shot, referred to as the MMR vaccine -- had hurt their kids.
Read more here.
Some parts of the U.S. are seeing much higher rates than others: Metropolitan Phoenix, for example, has twice the prevalence as northern Alabama. Whether those differences reflect actual higher risk in different regions, differences in awareness among local residents, or simply variations in record keeping is something the CDC is trying to untangle.
Read more here.
Children who live in areas of the United States that get a lot of precipitation appear to have a higher risk of developing autism, a new study suggests.
Because these children may spend more time indoors or because rain brings chemicals in the atmosphere to the ground, they might be exposed to environmental triggers that can trigger a genetic predisposition to autism, the researchers say.Read more here.
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