The Challenge of Autism
We are in the midst of a documented epidemic of developmental disorders including autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pervasive development disorder (PDD), and nonverbal learning disorder (NLD). Our local, regional, and national communities are woefully under-equipped to diagnose, treat, and educate these children. These childhood developmental disorders (CDDs) interfere with the normal development of the brain in the areas of reasoning, social interaction, motor skills, communication skills, and attention. Children with CDDs typically have deficiencies in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and play activities. These disorders make it difficult to communicate with others and relate to the outside world, leading to social isolation. Developmental disorders occur across a spectrum and therefore affect individuals differently. Some children lose the ability to speak, some may have significant motor impairment, and many children lack social and emotional awareness. Behaviors range from hyperactivity to serious self-injury. Left untreated, many children do not develop the skills they need to function in society. Appropriate intervention is mandatory for proper progress for each individual child.
Autism, ADD, ADHD, PDD, NLD, and Asperger’s Syndrome were once either unknown or very rare. In 1980, autism diagnoses alone were 1 in 5,000; today they are approaching 1 in 120. It has been conservatively estimated that 1.77 million individuals are now affected with autism. This makes it the most common developmental disability--more common than Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. The problem is in fact much larger than these numbers reflect. By 2002, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 7%-15% of all US school children were affected by a CDD. Furthermore, CDDs have multiple effects on society at large, beginning with the families of those affected; divorce rates in these families are over 80% in the United States. Unfortunately, the majority of the public and many professionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields are still largely unaware of how these disorders affect people, and don’t know how to work effectively with individuals with a CDD.
"This problem is going to bankrupt the public health and public school systems in the next 15 – 20 years if nothing is done." - Dr. Cordero CDC