Diagnosis: Autism

As a early childhood teacher with two toddlers diagnosed with Autism in my class (one just diagnosed a couple of months ago, after we were concerned about warning signs), it was very interesting to see this look at Autism in young children. Early Intervention makes such a major difference as far as I can see, so it is good to get the early warning signs out there. As far as the "epidemic" goes, I don't think it is necessarily a true epidemic in that there are many, many more children with Autism, but I do believe that we are more cognizant of it and it is diagnosed more often than it was, even just 10 years ago.

interesting...

interesting...

The medical insurance community needs to hear this loud and clear. Since this is a DSM-IV diagnosis, insurance needs to cover some of the early intervention costs for therapies. Expecting the school districts to foot the sometimes $60,000 a year bill (for one child) is going to be the undoing of our public school systems. Integrating therapy (ABA/DTT) in to our school systems deliverefd by trained district personnel who are BCBA certified is one route as well, expensive at first but well worth it...pay now or pay later...It would also make the early intervention more global and accessible to more students with autism. Not just students whose parents have resources or advantages that others don't. Autism is a global problem and intervention should be global as well as well as tailored to need. Mark my words, school districts are fracturing and encroaching on the general education funds paying Non Public Agencies to delvier ABA and the litagation that goes with it....Nobody likes to talk about it but it will rear it's ugly head when districts start to go bankrupt.....Insurance industry, wake up and smell the coffee, it's time to be proactive...

I live below a single Mother with a 3 year old son. He spends 3 or 4 days with each parent. The first night he is with his mom he screams and throws himself all over the floor. His father has a house and yard and I believe changing households twice a week is upsetting and confusing to him and he is unable to communicate his displeasure of having to change from a home and yard to an apartment. I feel sorry for the mom but even tho she is a "teacher" of children with learning disabilities, she is unable to emotionally help her child. Can autism be caused by early inoculations for Childhood diseases?

Please give me Information about it . I have diabet type 2 & I dont now how can I get the addres of this hospetal . & my name is AMIN M TAWAKALY From AFGHANISTAN . this is my Email addres tawakalyltd10@yahoo.com . I send you before also but I did not get ansuwr from you .

I am amazed that 60 Minutes would choose to ignore the growing movement toward biomedical treatments that we have seen recover the children from autism. There are literally thousands of children that have lost their autism diagnosis through the four pillars of treatment(chelation, diet, supplementation, and behavioral therapies). Drs. Brian Jepson and Andrew Wakefield are doing cutting edge research and treatment at Thoughtful House in Austin, Texas. (www.thoughtfulhouse.org) Jepson's book Changing the Course of Autism is a ground breaking text for doctors and parents. I would encourage all parents of children with autism to read this book and to attend a DAN conference to learn about the treatments for your children. I have seen the children recover myself and want you to see yours recover as well. The department of Health and Human Services recently embraced the DAN protocol for treatment because it is the only protocol that has children recovering from autism. See the PBS documentary entitled Finding the Words. Maureen deTar

MRSBERGY It seems like you have a lot of information, however, possibly your efforts may go further directed to an elected official. Insurance companies have long ago figured out how to get out of all kinds of legitimate claims.... and while I agree that they should be paying for a medical necessity... directing your comments to them I don't think helps. I am a parent of a child with Autism and the non public school he attends is helping him tremendously. Why shouldn't my tax dollars go to help my son? On that one, I disagree.

Our oldest (son) was diagnosed w/ asperger's at the age of 5. He has struggled with reading in school (now in 2nd grade) but is still very bright. He is fascinated with trains. He can spot a train track from 50 miles away (LOL)! we have two other children who so far seem to be"normal". We hope to get our son to the level that he can have a full and productive life when he becomes an adult. We are still trying to figure out how some day to sit him down and explain to him how he is "different" from others. He is a very caring and loving big-brother to his two sisters and tries to be the 3rd adult in our home.

Mrs Bergy is right. Many schools are now trying to educate all students with special needs in the district because out of district placement is bankrupting an already stressed educational system which results in higher and higher property taxes, especially in NJ, more has to be done to fund the education of all children.