Autism rates among U.S. children is one in 91, says new report

Oct 7 2009

National Autism Association Calls Upon Obama to Declare Autism a National Health Crisis

A new report out yesterday places autism rates among U.S. children at one in 91, with autism now affecting one in 58 boys. These new numbers, from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are prompting outrage from parents and autism advocates over inaction from government health agencies in addressing the crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of American families.

In contrast to its response to these alarming numbers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has spent billions of dollars developing an H1N1 vaccine despite growing questions regarding the severity and prevalence of swine flu, and concerns over the safety of the vaccine.

"We hope these new numbers will create an immediate shift in priorities, especially within the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)" said National Autism Association (NAA) board member Kelly Vanicek. "This nation's children need the CDC's full attention, and we are again asking President Obama to declare autism an epidemic and a national health crisis."

The new study also reports that 38.2% of children surveyed had at one time been diagnosed with autism but later lost the diagnosis. Increasing numbers of parents and researchers believe that autism is preventable and treatable, yet health officials routinely ignore reports of children who have recovered from autism, and to date have not funded clinical studies on promising treatments. According to Ms. Vanicek, "We need our government health agencies to recognize the biomedical treatments that are helping these children recover from autism. Effective treatments should be available to anyone with the diagnosis, and also carry implications for probable causation."

The CDC has not only failed to declare autism a national emergency, but along with the NIH has refused to conduct studies comparing the health of vaccinated children to that of unvaccinated children, despite repeated requests from parents, physicians, advocacy groups, and legislators. "The federal government's mishandling of the autism epidemic is a national disgrace," according to NAA Vice President Ann Brasher. "The focus on the propaganda-driven swine flu 'pandemic' is outrageous considering the very real epidemic of autism."