By David Kirby
Washington loves to dump its bad news on a Friday afternoon, and today it confirmed that one percent of American children (and by extension, perhaps 1-in-58 boys) – has an autism spectrum disorder.
National Children’s Health Survey Report Finds Autism Prevalence Now 1 in 91
Autism Society Calls for Answers to Crisis Now
A national report released today in the journal Pediatrics reveals that 1 percent of U.S. children ages 3-17 have an autism spectrum disorder, an estimated prevalence of one in every 91 children. This is a dramatic increase from the one in 150 prevalence rates currently reported.
“This national study charts a dramatic rise in the prevalence of autism in the United States and we applaud this administration’s recognition that autism is an urgent public health priority,” said Autism Society President and CEO Lee Grossman. “But families today are asking: how high must these prevalence rates rise before the nation responds? Significant resources must be directed toward screening and diagnosis, affordable interventions that treat the whole person and comprehensive education plans to foster lifelong skill development so that people with autism will have the ability to work and live independently.”
The report, entitled “Prevalence of Parent-Reported Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children in the US,” published in today’s issue of Pediatrics, was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services National Survey of Children’s Health, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report was conducted via a telephone survey of over 78,000 parents, and determined a point prevalence of 110 per 10,000 respondents, roughly 1 percent of the population of children in the United States.
On a constituent call to discuss the report, the CDC reported that its initial analysis of the Autism and Developmental Delay Monitoring project data, due out later this fall, confirm the 1 percent figure. This report will also contain more data on age of diagnosis, groups affected, and access to interventions.
The increasing numbers have long-term economic costs to the country, as autism is a chronic medical condition affecting people across the lifespan. “Lifespan services, particularly for adults, are typically inadequate and inappropriate,” Grossman stated. “This new data should be a call to action to the government to improve and increase services and supports first.”
The Autism Society has been working with Congress on several key bills, which have stalled. “The information in this new report highlights the pressing need for additional services, support and treatments for families affected by autism spectrum disorders,” said Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). “My bill, the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act, will help children and adults with autism gain better access to coordinated services, improve training for professionals treating these disorders, and will relieve the financial burden on the millions of families struggling with this disability.”
This bill, if funded, would provide funding for applied research into effective interventions, the first ever demonstration grants on adult services, create an adult prevalence study, and fund family support and information networks.
“Autism affects millions of American families, and the cost of diagnosis, early intervention, and treatment imposes a heavy burden on most of them,” said Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), co-chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus. “This legislation, the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009, would improve the dissemination of information between autism researchers and service providers, improve training for professionals treating autism spectrum disorders, and mandate that health insurers cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Enactment of this legislation would do a lot to help millions of American families.”
“The increase in the reported prevalence of autism across the nation testifies to the urgency of executing a comprehensive strategy in response to this public health emergency,” said Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus. “For its part, Congress must ensure robust funding to support aggressive programs of research, education, and services. Furthermore, Congress needs to enact additional legislation, such as the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009, that will establish the infrastructure and mechanisms for delivering appropriate services across the lifespan to individuals with autism and their families. We must look to maximize the reach and impact of our investments and activities by closely coordinating government efforts with those of national advocacy organizations, such as the Autism Society.”
I have to believe that if this is based on a national survey, the numbers in NJ are worse. When the statistics were 1 in 150 kids nationally, NJ’s numbers were already 1 in 94. We need to survey families of unvaccinated children and see what the results look like.
Posted via web from Lisa Mazzuca’s updates, photos and important stuff.
Kathleen Sibelius: “Autism Now Hits 1 in 100 Children. We Have No Idea Why.”
via ageofautism.com
The recommended childhood vaccination schedule. That’s why.
Posted via web from Lisa Mazzuca’s updates, photos and important stuff.
Do you support vaccination choice?
Join us in Albany, New York on Tuesday, September 29, from 10am until 1pm, on the East Side Steps of the State Capitol Buildling for a peaceful but focused protest rally against mandated vaccines. The eyes of the nation will be on Albany this Tuesday as we deliver the strongest possible message that we will not have public health officials and legislators dictating our personal health care decisions. It starts right here, in the State of New York.
More details about the rally here: http://www.lifehealthchoices.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50#
Posted via web from Lisa Mazzuca’s updates, photos and important stuff.
I posted it on Craigslist. Take a look at the listing and pass it on if you know anyone who might be interested! Thanks for checking it out!
Posted via email from Lisa Mazzuca’s updates, photos and important stuff.
Md. Gov. Calls Seasonal Flu Shots a ‘Patriotic Duty’
By Aaron C. Davis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 5:51 PM
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) on Wednesday said it was residents’ “patriotic duty” to get seasonal flu shots in coming weeks to make it easier for health officials to determine if outbreaks are related to H1N1, or swine flu.
If residents do not get vaccinated against seasonal strains and later get sickened by them as a result, there will be little way to determine if those falling ill this fall and winter have been infected by less worrisome strains, or by the more contagious H1N1 virus, O’Malley said.
The governor characterized that scenario as serious because it could stress supplies of antiviral treatments and other resources needed to care for swine flu victims, since only those Marylanders sick enough to be hospitalized may undergo tests to confirm the presence of swine flu, state health officials said.
“You’ll be doing your patriotic duty to get your seasonal flu shot this year,” O’Malley said. If you’ve never received one, “by golly, this is a very good year to do it for the first time,” he said.
O’Malley’s plea for state residents to voluntarily get seasonal flu shots in advance of a larger effort this fall to vaccinate children, pregnant women, health-care workers and others against swine flu followed a closed-door meeting with his cabinet and leaders from state public-safety and health-care agencies. The meeting came one day after those and other agencies were required to submit contingency plans for how to keep the state government working should thousands of transportation workers, state police, hospital employees or others fall ill with H1N1.
Maryland, home to the nation’s swine flu summit in July at the National Institutes of Health, was notably aggressive compared to Virginia and other states during the initial H1N1 scare this spring in terms of releasing information to the public about possible and confirmed swine-flu cases. The state has since enhanced its own contingency plans for dealing with the virus, adding to, for example, its web of backup operations centers, should sickened employees force officials to close key offices.
John M. Colmers, secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene, likened Maryland’s share of the upcoming mass swine-flu vaccination campaign to a “military operation,” and said much remains unknown about exactly how the state will carry it out. Unlike seasonal flu shots, which are available now, swine flu vaccines will not be ready until at least mid-October, and even then only in limited quantities.
“We’re trying to match what we know about the supply of the vaccine and its particular formulation with the target populations and when we believe it will arrive,” Colmers said. He stressed that the only thing the state knows for sure is that it won’t initially have enough doses to vaccinate the roughly 2.9 million state residents considered most at risk.
Colmers said the state is waiting for precise directions from the Centers for Disease Control as to whether pregnant women, school-age children, toddlers or others will be first in line for vaccinations.
Greg Reed, head of the Maryland Center for Immunization, said that once that decision is made, Maryland will have direct authority to instruct McKesson, the nation’s sole distributor for the vaccine, to send shipments to the appropriate doctors’ offices or other immunization centers.
“If it’s pregnant women, we’ll send those initial doses directly to OB/GYN and others who specialize in their care. If it’s children less than 4 years old, we’ll send them straight to pediatricians’ offices,” Reed said.
Whichever group goes first, the effort will be far different from the annual flu shot campaign, which typically targets seniors.
Roughly 30 percent of residents in Maryland opt for seasonal flu shots each year, health officials say, and there’s little overlap with that population and the one that will be asked to vaccinate against H1N1. Just 42 percent of Maryland health care workers, for example, now take flu shots.
Please post your comments here: Comment
Golly let’s call the Gov and tell him what we think.
By mail:
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland
21401-1925By telephone:
410.974.3901
1.800.811.8336
MD Relay 1.800.735.2258Or Email
Getting a flu shot is my Patriotic Duty? Bullshit. I’ll tell you where they can shove their flu shots. How DARE they say I don’t love my country because I don’t want to shoot neurotoxins into my family. How DARE they?
Posted via web from Lisa Mazzuca’s updates, photos and important stuff.
