On the news today...this is something that affects me personally. Statistics were 1 in 150 5 years ago when it affected my grandson who regressed into a world of his own, then 1-144 .... he's now mainstreamed and in recovery.

Autism Affects 1 In 91 Children, Government Says

By Michelle Diament
October 4, 2009
Autism affects 1 in 91 children in the United States, government data published Monday shows, marking a dramatic increase over the previous estimate of 1 in 150.
The research published in the journal Pediatrics comes from a 2007 telephone survey of over 78,000 parents who were asked if they had ever been told by a health care provider that their child had an autism spectrum disorder.
Results from the survey show about 673,000 children diagnosed with autism, bringing the rate to 1 in 91 children, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration who jointly conducted the survey.
Of parents who said their child had been diagnosed with autism, half indicated their child’s condition was “mild” while one third called it “moderate.” The remaining parents indicated that their child had a “severe” case.
In about 38 percent of cases parents reported that their child no longer had the diagnosis.
The 2007 survey marked the first time since 2002 that the government attempted to estimate the prevalence of autism, which many suspect to be on the rise. The 2002 measurement looked at data on 8-year-olds and concluded that autism occurred in 1 in 150 children.
While the significant increase in the rate of autism does appear to suggest a rise in the disorder, researchers say several factors could be at play. Greater public awareness and identification of autism and the inclusion of Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder and other autism spectrum disorders in the 2007 survey could contribute to the higher rate of diagnosis, they say. What’s more, the shear fact that children are being diagnosed with autism at younger ages than in the past means that more children would likely have an autism diagnosis at any one time.
Of children who once had an autism diagnosis but no longer did, many retained other similar diagnoses such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or behavioral problems. Researchers say the difficulty in identifying autism especially in very young children could be the reason nearly 40 percent of children diagnosed with autism lose the diagnosis as they age.
Alternatively, some children could have received an autism diagnosis early on primarily to access needed early intervention or special education services. And, researchers also say the accuracy of parent reporting could be at issue.
The 2007 survey indicates that boys were four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism. White children were also more likely to have the disorder than black or multiracial children. Furthermore, children living in the Northeast and Midwest had higher odds of having autism while children with less educated parents had lower odds.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/04/autism-1-in-91/5633/

Proportion of 8-year-olds diagnosed with autism is up 50% in 2 years, CDC says
http://www.allvoices.com/news/4309473-autism-finds-studies-figure

Autism Rates: Government Studies Find 1 in 100 Children Have Autism DisordersMonday, October 5, 2009 12:43 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/autism-rates-government-s_n_309290.html

A Department of Health and Human Services report released Monday says that the autism rate in the U.S. is higher than previously believed -- about 1 in 100 children have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the report says, up from the previous estimate of 1 in 150.

The details are even more troubling: The report, which appeared in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal, Pediatrics, shows that while the 1 in 91 children are on the autism spectrum, the rate for boys is a startling 1 in 58.

Why the sudden uptick, especially given that the rate was just raised to 1 in 150 earlier this year?

"Increased awareness" is the easy answer. A generation ago, a child with autism would simply have been labeled "difficult" or "quirky," but we have a better idea now of what to look for (and how to help). Another possibility: The autism spectrum itself has grown to include things like Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, and the all-encompassing PDD-NOS, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Whatever the reason, the results of the study, culled from the responses of more than 78,000 parents, can't be ignored.



Groundbreaking Study by Dr. Robert Melillo and Dr. Gerry Leisman, Offers New Hope for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and Dyslexia. For the First Time, Researchers Propose a Universal Theory of Autism; May Eventually Lead to Cure

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Earlier today, promising new research findings that may help scientists and doctors better understand and treat Autism Spectrum Disorders, were released from a new study by Dr. Robert Melillo, a world-renowned neurologist, professor and author (Disconnected Kids, Penguin Books).

This possible medical breakthrough, follows on the heels of Monday's harrowing announcement that two new government studies, including one by the Centers for Disease Control, estimate that 1 in every 100 American children has an autism based disorder. The new estimate would mean that about 673,000 American children have autism.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_AUTISM_HOW_MANY?SITE=CAVEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In the recently published study, Autistic Spectrum Disorders as Functional Disconnection Syndrome [Reviews in the Neurosciences, 2009, Freund Publishing], Dr. Robert Melillo and Dr. Gerry Leisman, offer, for the first time ever, a universal theory for understanding and treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and Dyslexia. In the study, Dr. Melillo asserts that a disconnection between the left and right sides of the developing brain may lead to these kinds of neurological disorders.

"The problem known as a functional disconnection is a communication breakdown between large cortical networks in the developing brain. This leads to fewer connections between areas of the brain especially the two hemispheres. This imbalance explains the unevenness of skills and all of the other combination of symptoms we see in autism," said Dr. Melillo.

Key study findings include:

•A possible treatment solution exists that has the potential of correcting Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia permanently.
•How Functional Disconnection with reduced activity and coherence in the right hemisphere would explain all of the symptoms of autistic spectrum disorder as well as the observed increases in sympathetic activation.
•Best way to address the symptoms of these disorders: improving brain coordination through increasing right hemisphere activity to the level that it becomes temporally coherent with the left hemisphere.
•The physical, immune, digestive, and biochemical issues, or the sensory and motor issues, that previous papers do not address.
•An explanation of the neurological, cognitive, psychological, as well as both the sensory and motor issues.
Hope abounds throughout the scientific community that this new theory might prove to be a significant breakthrough in understanding and treating one of the biggest social and medical issues of our time. President Barack Obama has identified autism as a national health priority and has earmarked Federal stimulus money for autism research, screening and treatment.

"For years, researchers have recognized that autism is a multimodal problem that affects multiple areas of the brain and multiple systems in the body. Although autistic children can vary in their combination of symptoms, there has also been the recognition that there seems to be a single unifying problem that may relate to other disorders like ADHD and Dyslexia," said Dr. Melillo.

For the past 4 years Dr. Robert Melillo has served as an adjunct professor of functional neuroanatomy in a graduate doctoral program in neuropsychology at Touro College and Leeds Metropolitan University. He is also an associate professor of clinical neurology and childhood behavioral disorders with The Carrick Institute. Dr. Melillo is the executive director of the FR Carrick Research Institute, a University based research lab that focuses on translational research and development in the areas of neuroscience, brain development, ergonomics and rehabilitation. He is also the president of the Foundation for Cognitive Neuroscience.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/63687862.html