Autism

[xoxoxoBruce]

My Aunt sent me a newspaper clipping about the renovated elementary school being open in her town of probably less than 3500 people.

The article said there are 370 students in grades K through 4. It also said, there are 12 students with Autism and 1 with language-based learning disabilities, although it's unclear if the 13 are included in the 370 figure.

12 with Autism struck me as high for only 370 students. Is this problem increasing?

[warch]

Could be its just diagnosed more, but perhaps its something else, or a combo. I've heard of speculated connections (rather convincing) to the preservatives used in some older childhood vaccinations. I think we talked about it here a while back...I'll look for the link. It could be the reporter is just lumping some other developmental delays into a quick label of "autism", small town paper and all. ?

[skysidhe]

I don't know.

This is what I do know. The Federal government says there is no link to mercury based imunizations and that they have phased out most of them. So if the 80's have gone and the imunizations are now clean then where are these new cases comming from? Is it the new fad label out there?

The schools use Autism as an umbrella term in order to get funds. What the doctors usually say if it isn't true autism is it is a 'developmental disorder' organic in the nerological make up. Have you ever heard of Non-Verbal learning disorder? It's a person who is dominatly left brained. Who cannot see in pictures. I think these people have always been here but our schools are so large now days that these kids who are outside of the norm get put in special classes. Is it any wonder that charter and alternative schools are becomming increasingly popular?

I don't know. I've worked alot on labels with my own kid. I explain alot. I don't think some things are a disability. I think secondary symptoms of anxiety about being different is. I think obsessive compulsive thinking is too and those can be controled by meds and a strong will to learn.

[Bullitt]

I did a little "field experience" (teacher shadowing) last semester through my school's education department and where I went was an alternative school for kids with severe ADD/ADHD, publicly funded. I was told there that some of the kids "have a form of autism" that has very similar symptoms to kids with bad ADHD. I'm wondering if the schools could be using kids who have been diagnosed as "potentially having" that form of autism to boost their numbers in hopes of getting more funding?

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by warch

Could be its just diagnosed more, but perhaps its something else, or a combo. I've heard of speculated connections (rather convincing) to the preservatives used in some older childhood vaccinations. I think we talked about it here a while back...I'll look for the link. It could be the reporter is just lumping some other developmental delays into a quick label of "autism", small town paper and all. ?

I think the schools do use the 'Autism' label for all developmental delays.

Originally Posted by Bullitt

I'm wondering if the schools could be using kids who have been diagnosed as "potentially having" that form of autism to boost their numbers in hopes of getting more funding?

I've wondered that myself. I have wondered if it just isn't this fast paced world we live in. Some kids need extra time and quiet spaces. Maybe these kids where always there but in times past they were either ignored or faded into the background?

[jinx]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

The Federal government says there is no link to mercury based imunizations and that they have phased out most of them. So if the 80's have gone and the imunizations are now clean then where are these new cases comming from?

What does the 80' have to do with anything? The phasing out of thimerisol didn't begin until 1999 - and thimerisol-containing vaccines were used up, not removed from the shelves.

[limey]

FWIW this story on the same topic appeared on the BBC website a couple of days ago ...

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by jinx

What does the 80' have to do with anything? The phasing out of thimerisol didn't begin until 1999 - and thimerisol-containing vaccines were used up, not removed from the shelves.

Oh well then my information was wrong or I read it wrong. Thanks..

I'd like to read more about that. Got a link for me? Yeah, I'm lazy.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Limey, that link says in part;

Researchers from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in south London, publishing their findings in the Lancet, looked at a group of 57,000 children aged nine and 10 in 2001.

They identified 255 who had already been diagnosed as having autistic disorders and 1,515 judged to be possible undetected cases.

A randomly selected sub-group of 255 children was chosen for in-depth clinical assessment.

The prevalence of "classic" childhood autism was 39 per 10,000, and that of other ASDs 77 per 10,000.

In total, autistic disorders affected 116 per 10,000 children.

The researchers extrapolated their findings to suggest one in 100 British children may have some form of autism.

I should think those numbers wouldn't be to far off for the US, but I could be wrong.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

Oh well then my information was wrong or I read it wrong. Thanks..

I'd like to read more about that. Got a link for me? Yeah, I'm lazy.

Here. And here. And here. Or just google thimerosal...

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by jinx

Here. And here. And here. Or just google thimerosal...

http://www.ewg.org/reports/autism/background.php

Drug companies used thimerosal as a vaccine preservative to allow multiple injections to be shipped and stored in single containers. Thimerosal is 49 percent ethyl mercury, a widely recognized and potent neurotoxin. After more than a decade of nationwide, high childhood exposures, it was removed from childhood vaccinations between 1999 and 2002, at the urging of the Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics, but is still present in most flu vaccines. California and Iowa have banned mercury-containing thimerosal from all vaccinations, and Missouri and Nebraska have legislation in progress.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

12 with Autism struck me as high for only 370 students. Is this problem increasing?

Does that state and/or school distric have a particularly good reputation for treating autistic kids?

My first lover's brother was severly autistic...he put an enormous strain on that family. At 13 he had the body of an 18 year-old physically.

[Happy Monkey]

Also, in an area with a variety of private schools, public schools will have a higher percentage of autistic (and other developmentally disabled) kids, since the private schools don't take them.

In a town of 3500, that may not be the case, though. Any factories nearby dumping mercury into the water?

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

since the private schools don't take them.

What makes you say that?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Also, in an area with a variety of private schools, public schools will have a higher percentage of autistic (and other developmentally disabled) kids, since the private schools don't take them.

In a town of 3500, that may not be the case, though. Any factories nearby dumping mercury into the water?

No factories, not much of any industry, and no public water.
You may be right about alternate schools, though. I imagine some of the kids are going to Catholic school (major bus ride), or private/home schooled. Probably not many of those though.