Autism Rate Doubles in California over 4 Years (Liberalism?)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Autism cases in California nearly doubled over the past four years to more than 20,000 -- a phenomenon whose cause may be difficult to pinpoint because it is not related to population increases or the way the disorder is diagnosed, a state study said on Tuesday.

The study, conducted by the California Department of Developmental Services, tracked the number of autism cases referred to 21 regional centers where patients and their families receive government-funded services.

The report showed that the agency's caseload increased 97 percent -- from 10,360 in December 1998 to 20,337 four years later.

Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that primarily strikes boys, impairing their ability to communicate, interact and emotionally bond with others. Once a rare disorder, autism now is more prevalent than childhood cancer, diabetes and Down syndrome, the study's author, Dr. Ron Huff, said.

The spectacular rate of increase for autism dwarfs rises of 35 percent to 49 percent for new cases of mental retardation, cerebral palsy and epilepsy in California, he said.

"We are convinced that this is for real," Huff said. "It has to be taken seriously." Huff's study was a follow-up to an earlier report ordered by California lawmakers that showed a 273 percent rise in autism cases statewide between 1987 to 1998.

"All through the 1970s to the mid-1980s, we were looking at a couple of hundred (autistic) kids each year," Huff said. "Over the next decade we were looking at thousands of new cases each year. Parents were reporting anecdotally that there were a lot more of these kids out there that anyone believed."

A parallel study, funded by the state and conducted at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, showed that the dramatic increases in California's autism caseload were not due to changes in population or reporting criteria.

"The study has proven two very clear things: the validity of the diagnosis has not changed and the kids are not moving to California for the services," the study's author, Dr. Marian Sigman, said. "That still leaves us with the puzzle of why are we getting this increase in number of cases."

Preliminary results of a study commissioned by the Department of Developmental Services found high levels of a naturally occurring protein in the blood of newborns who later developed autism, Huff said. That study's conclusions are due in about three years, he said.

A detailed analysis of the approaches to treating autism would require a lengthy volume. For the purposes of this post, I will list them in an outline form and add a conclusion about their effectiveness based upon Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism; A Manual for Parents and Professionals:

1. Special Education

A. Project TEACCH
B. Other Public School Classes
C. The Higashi School
D. Full Inclusion

Conclusion: Little scientific evidence to suggest such classes are helpful without Applied Behavior Analysis.

2. Speech and Language Therapies

Conclusion: Not intensive enough to be very effective, but may augment other interventions.

3. Sensory-Motor Therapies

A. Sensory Integration Therapy
B. Auditory Integration Training
C. Facilitated Communication

Conclusion: Studies are sparse and have consistently yielded adverse findings.

4. Psychotherapies

A. Psychoanalysis
B. Other Psychotherapies

Conclusion: Ineffective, possibly harmful.

5. Biological Treatments

A. Medications
B. Diets
C. Megavitamins
D. Prevention and Treatment of Infections
E. Chiropractic (see Topics in Clinical Chiropractic)

Conclusion: Medications like major tranquilizers produce serious side effects and have not been shown to beneficial, nor have diets, megavitamins or treatments of infections. The use of Prozac, Anafranil, naltrexone, and high doses of B6 with magnesium merit further research, but do entail risks for negative side effects.

6. Applied Behavior Analysis

Conclusion: This is the most recommended approach according to the authors of Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism. This is by far the most successful at present. According to parents, professionals and the results so far, early diagnosis and intervention with this intensive therapy has produced the most measurable results. Time may prove that there are other methods that are better. However, there isn’t that luxury to wait for better methods. We have to run with what is working.

See my previous post for publication data...

One question that I have not seen asked concerns human evolution. If we see this trend in modern society moving toward more highly specialized occupations and education, are these phenotypes contributing to an evolutionary outcome on a genetic level?

Just as people are a product of environmental factors, is the evolution of human technology going to affect the children of those who develop and utilize our new technology? Will we have an evolution of the human brain along the lines of a guild, where the children’s brains are specifically constructed for the occupations and education of their parents? And, are the low functioning, severely impaired offspring just a way for the genetic factors to work themselves out into a more perfected process?

While the hypotheses of this are certainly something of great interest, autism and other related syndromes are not caused by a single gene: "but by some orchestration of multiple genes that may make the developing child more susceptible to a trigger in the environment. One consequence of increased reproduction of people carrying some of these genes might be to boost ‘genetic loading’ in successive generations — leaving them more vulnerable to threats posed by toxins in vaccines, candida, or any number of agents lurking in the industrialized world."

A related topic to this is dyslexia. "Like autism, dyslexia seems to move down genetic pathways." The director of the neurogenetics laboratory at UCLA, Dan Geschwind, is fascinated by the idea that in relation to dyslexia and autism, certain types of achievements might need not just different approaches to thinking, but different kinds of brains.

"…Silicone Valley is the only place on Earth with enough critical mass of supercomputing resources, bio-imformatics expertise, genomics savvy, pharmaceutical muscle, and VC dollars to boost autism research to the next phase."

One voice of caution in this is human tampering with the reproductive genetic process. Should we intervene at a genetic level and possibly destroy our own evolution or create a human disaster? Do we possess enough wisdom to make a determination? UCSF neurologist Kirk Wilhelmsen says: "If we could eliminate the genes for things like autism, I think it would be disastrous… The healthiest state for a gene pool is maximum diversity of things that might be good."

Question: What if we create something we can’t get rid of OR we get rid of something we need but can’t bring back? (I personally think this strikes at the heart of the abortion question as well: Do we really have the wisdom?)

The search for a common thread in all of this continues, as do the myriad of speculations. It was once difficult to find treatment instead of the custodial type of care usually reserved for the mentally retarded. The intellectual, political, and monetary powers of many well-salaried parents who face this have motivated a lot of action to find answers. (Microsoft has become the first major U.S. corporation to offer health benefits that cover therapy for autistic dependants.)

With the intense focus on the source(s) of a cause, what about remedies? In our rush to eliminate the causation, are we ignoring effective treatment for the afflicted?

There are many approaches to treating autism. All of the research materials and credible expert opinions seem to support an accurate and early diagnosis. (As with many aspects of human health, it is my opinion that all too often the established hierarchy of the medical profession has to be prodded or dragged kicking and screaming towards any meaningful action. Some resist even making a diagnosis until the age of five. To me, this represents valuable time lost and an unnecessary ego trip at the expense of other people’s misery.)

See post #24 for the sources of my information.

I am taking care of a 3 year old boy right now, who was showing all the signs of autism, until he started seeing a doctor who treats food sensitivities and things like you mention, the heavy metals and other things left in the body after immunizations.
We have just found out that he is sensitive to his 3 favorite foods: milk, wheat, and soy. He also lacks the enzyme that helps detoxify the body.
Since starting a milk/wheat/soy free diet a month ago, he is showing MARKED improvement in all symptoms.....and there is still a long way to go with other treatments and vitamin/mineral therapies.

This disorder is generally accepted as a biological syndrome that affects both the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems.

Could you provide contact information about this physician or a body of research materials on this topic related to this work?

They stopped using Thimersol in the US at least 3 years ago because my younger grandson has not had any. At first his doctor had to special order the separate shots for him, but now all of the vacines are available without the additive.

On the contrary, his autistic brother, who is 5 years older, had exceeded the allowable level of mercury (from thimersol) in his body by the time he was 15 months old; and that is when the first signs of autism presented. Home videos show a normal baby until he was 15 months old when he started regressing.

He has been treated with the casein free diet and with other dietary treatments. Although he has been diagnosed with certain gastrointestinal problems, the special diets did not seem to help much. Perhaps they were started too late (5 years old).

I think it's also the new "popular" diagnosis. My cousin is fighting an autism label on her child. The school feels that he is autistic because he "fixates".

It is regrettable some people, like at the school you speak of, consider themselves physicians. They are not licensed to practice medicine. Perhaps they should be held legally accountable?

I do not think autism is one of those pop-syndromes recently in fashion. I have researched this to some great extent...

...a genetic disorder related to a variant allele of HOXB1, a gene on chromosome 17, possibly regions on chromosome 15, chromosome 7 and chromosome 9. A remarkable and detailed report on the etiologies, brain mechanisms, and neuropsychological phenotypes can be found in Diagnosing Learning Disorders; A Neuropsychological Framework (which may be now outdated). This following description is a valuable bit of information from that 1991 book:

…Briefly, existing evidence supports the conclusion that autism is familial, heritable and genetically heterogeneous. Among the possible genetic subtypes are multifactorial inheritance, autosomal recessive inheritance, X-linked inheritance and nonfamilial chromosomal anomalies.

In any case, your cousin should seek legal advice if she feels school officials (usually pretentious liberals) are creating a psychological danger to the child.

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