Autism on the rise

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

NY Times, Oct. 18, 2002

Increase in Autism Baffles Scientists
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

Trying to account for a drastic rise in childhood autism in recent years, a 
California study has found that it cannot be explained away by statistical 
anomalies or by a growing public awareness that might have led more parents 
to report the disorder.

But the study's authors, who reported their findings yesterday to the 
California Legislature, said they were at a loss to explain the reasons for 
what they called an epidemic of autism, the mysterious brain disorder that 
affects a person's ability to form relationships and to behave normally in 
everyday life.

"Autism is on the rise in the state, and we still do not know why," said 
the lead author, Dr. Robert S. Byrd, an epidemiologist and pediatrician at 
the University of California at Davis. "The results are, without a doubt, 
sobering."

As diagnoses of autism have increased throughout the nation, experts and 
parents have cast about for possible explanations, including genetics, 
birth injuries and childhood immunizations. The California study found that 
none of these factors could explain an increase of the magnitude reported 
there ? more than triple from 1987 to 1998.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/18/health/18AUTI.html

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Rachel's Environment and Health News

#712 - Children In Harm's Way, November 23, 2000

by Rachel Massey*

A new report by a group of physicians says that millions of children in the 
U.S. exhibit learning disabilities, reduced IQ and destructive, aggressive 
behavior because of exposures to toxic chemicals.[1] "Neurodevelopmental 
disabilities are widespread, and chemical exposures are important and 
preventable contributors to these conditions," the report says (pg. 117).

Titled IN HARM'S WAY, the report was written by physicians Ted Schettler 
and Jill Stein and two of their colleagues and was published by Greater 
Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility in partnership with the Clean 
Water Fund. IN HARM'S WAY links toxic exposures during early childhood, or 
even before birth, to lifelong disabilities including attention disorders, 
reduced IQ and poorly-controlled aggression.

IN HARM'S WAY reviews scientific and medical information on a range of 
toxins to which most or all American children are exposed, and draws links 
to the rising number of children diagnosed each year with abnormal brain 
development or function. The report is a call to action for everyone 
interested in children's welfare and the future of our society. To avert 
brain damage in growing numbers of children, we have to reclaim our 
government from corporate special interests, the report concludes.

Developmental disabilities such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and uncontrollable aggression currently affect an 
estimated 12 million children under age 18 in the U.S. -- almost one child 
in five. Furthermore, the incidence of some of these disabilities appears 
to have increased dramatically in recent decades. For example, nationwide, 
the number of children classified with learning disabilities and placed in 
special education programs increased 191% between 1977 and 1994. The number 
of children taking the drug Ritalin to combat attention deficit 
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has approximately doubled every 4 to 7 years 
since 1971. Experts estimate that autism rates have risen from around 4 per 
10,000 in the early 1980s to between 12 and 20 per 10,000 in the 1990s. 
According to a recent article in US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, the number of 
children in New York classified with learning disabilities rose 55 percent 
between 1983 and 1996. [2]

Some argue that reported disabilities are increasing because of improved 
diagnosis and rising expectations as children are required to learn more 
complicated skills at younger ages. But many parents, teachers, and 
physicians who work with children think these explanations are only 
partially correct because "they can not imagine that such disabilities 
escaped notice in the past," the report says. (pg. 11)


full: http://www.rachel.org/search/index.cfm?St=1


Louis Proyect
www.marxmail.org


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