Coleen Boyle on Minneapolis autism research presented at IACC meeting on 1/14/14.

[proverbialwisdom]

7. Dr Bob Sears: "So Autism Is Even MORE Common Than Last Year. Who Cares?"

Last edited Sun Mar 9, 2014, 04:59 PM - Edit history (3)

http://tacanowblog.com/2014/01/27/so-autism-is-even-more-common-than-last-year-who-cares/

So Autism Is Even MORE Common Than Last Year. Who Cares?

JANUARY 27, 2014
By Dr Bob Sears

I was really hoping that my latest blog would be entitled “Finally, Someone Cares About the Autism Epidemic!” But alas, it is not to be. The word “epidemic” is being reserved for the hundred or so cases of measles we see in the U.S. each year (no fatalities), or the very tragic twenty to thirty annual deaths from whooping cough. But autism? Don’t worry, it’s NOT an epidemic, because the government continues to reassure us it’s not an epidemic (Past blogs have been featured here 1.)

Tell that to the one million or more children currently affected (2.)

Remember back when autism was 1 in 10,000 and eventually 1 in 1000? Then 1 in 150 came along, and some of us got worried. Last year we were told it had jumped to 1 in 50. So, I was certain that “the powers that be” would finally step up and declare an emergency. Either that, or show us research that demonstrates autism is on the decline. But silence? SILENCE? What’s up with THAT?

What got my blood boiling again was the latest news (which I didn’t actually see on the NEWS): 1 in 48 Minneapolis children ages 7 to 9 have autism (3.) For Somali children in the city, the number is 1 in 32. We’d heard about the Somali problem a few years ago, and the government figured the Somali issue was due to some sort of genetic factor. The rest of our children in the area, whose parents were voting constituents, were safe. Not so. This latest study shows that Caucasian children in the city have an autism rate of 1 in 36. In other ethnicities, it’s less-commonly identified, thus diluting the total number down to 1 in 48. So, it’s not just some genetic factor unique to certain populations.

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I’m tired of getting my weekly “Eye on Influenza” newsletter from the public health department. Where’s my “Eye on Autism” weekly update? If 1 in 48 of my infant patients is going to develop a disorder, I want to know that the government is on top of it. I want to know that someone, anyone, cares.

Dr. Bob Sears
Pediatrician, TACA Physician Advisor, and author of The Autism Book

References:

1) Past Dr Sears previous “Who Cares” Blogs:
http://tacanowblog.com/2012/04/10/so-autism-is-common-who-cares/
http://tacanowblog.com/2013/03/20/so-autism-is-now-even-more-common-anybody-care-yet/

2) Autism Statistics http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/latest-autism-statistics-2/

3) Minneapolis Somali Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence Project 2013 http://rtc.umn.edu/autism/doc/Autism_report.pdf

http://tacanowblog.com/2014/01/27/so-autism-is-even-more-common-than-last-year-who-cares/#comment-3888

RECOMMENDED COMMENT:

Kendra
January 28, 2014 3:10 pm

George,

Let us look at my state alone. 25 years agao there were SIX children in Oregon known to have Autism and receiving services, special education, therapies. Now, let’s say there was a sudden recognition that autism might be an under-diagnosed – under-recognized disorder that might be affecting some of our children that we were labeling as something else. They often refer to this as “diagnostic substitution”. I would expect that number of SIX children to go up some, let’s say a few percentage points. How about to 50 kids in Oregon with Autism. I still would find that jump alarming, wouldn’t you. And let’s say this newfound awareness swept in some kids with NO previous diagnosis before….”increased awareness”, I would gladly and generously give you another 50 children, though again alarming, so now we would have 100 kids in the state of Oregon, diagnosed with Autism and receiving services.

Now i have to admit that even this gives me pause as i personally do not believe that 25 years ago, 50 years ago that parents, teachers, daycare providers, sunday school teachers simply didn’t notice or recognized the distinct aspects of autism and report that they had children that didn’t simply have retardation or other obvious developmental delays but children who toe-walked, flapped their hands, screeched, smeared feces, couldn’t talk, couldn’t sit still in class, had to have one-on-one educational paras shadow them throughout their day, were prone to elopement, self-injury, lashing out at others, were not just socially awkward but seemed to find it painful to interact with other children and/or adults. I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around the idea that these things would have been missed and that schools should not be going broke and screaming about the costs of these record numbers of children if we simply called them something else, because no matter what we called them, the schools would still have had to deal with them, spend on them, etc. No these number are new and costing billions of dollars, so it simply cannot be diagnostic substituion. Plus the numbers of all other disabilities have held steady in my state based on population percentages.

So, the question is George, what is the number today vs. the SIX children known over 20 years ago. Taking into account the possible 100 I have given you as possible if it is simply better diagnosis, recognition, or diagnostic substitution. Well it is over 8,000, yes approaching 9,000….over EIGHT THOUSAND children in Oregon now diagnosed with Autism and receiving services, special education, therapies, etc. Over 8,000 children who will not likely go to college, join the military, get a job, get married, get a driver’s license, who will need care or supervision for the rest of their lives. Over 8,000 children in one small state alone, that didn’t exist a little over 20 years ago, but do now, who will cost us even more billions to house, feed, assist, care for…well, for a lifetime. These are not simply socially awkward people with quirks, those we used to call geeks. These are children with a profound and devastating developmental disorder, not easily overlooked or missed.

I hope you will rethink your theory!

Link from Twitter last week,

http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-08-09/news/doctor-robert-sears-vaccine-debate/full/

Dr. Robert Sears Takes on Both Sides of the Great Vaccination Divide
By MICHELLE WOO Thursday, Aug 9 2012

This article appeared in print as "The Needle Doctor: OC's Dr. Robert Sears, author of The Vaccine Book, finds the middle ground in America's war on vaccinations."