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Dr. Tom Insel on Autism: "How We Prepare of Nation for a Million People Who May Need Significant Services"

Washington Post Voices: Autism Not Baby Boomers Biggest Health Challenge

Tsunami By Derek Kravitz

Autism, not 'baby boomers,' biggest future health challenge

The wave of aging "baby boomers" needing public health services in Northern Virginia -- once thought to be the greatest healthcare and fiscal threat facing local governments in the coming decades -- will be far outnumbered by the skyrocketing percentage of young adults with autism diagnoses, Fairfax County human services officials said Tuesday.

According to statistics compiled by the Fairfax County Public Schools, 1 in 83 enrolled students are now diagnosed with some form of autism, an 846 percent growth since 1997.

"That is a niche that's not being covered and those families are struggling," said Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D)... Read the full post HERE.

 

Comments

Hans RAIBLE

The Insel lecture was splendid technically, but the content was just a chain of anecdotes and of facts that were incoherent and not understandable to Dr. Insel.

If he could "regress" by 20 years and then study this from a different angle (which takes a long, long time), he would be the right man in the right place. As it goes, he is just s splendid public speaker gushing out anecdotes and silently hoping these victims of modern medicine will soon die and be covered by green lawn.

Hans Raible, Stuttgart, Germany

Benedetta

Maggie I think so too. Except I thought it was those darn continuous flu shots they give.

Carolyn M

"1 in 83 enrolled students are now diagnosed with some form of autism"

I'm wondering if this number may actually be worse with regard to those students who live in Fairfax County. If these are only the students who are enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools, then they may have missed two groups: those who are home schooled, and those who attend private school. Some of the students who attend private school are there because Fairfax County Public Schools cannot meet their needs - and these students' private school attendance is not necessarily paid for by Fairfax County Public Schools. The money can come from different governmental sources. Fairfax County Public Schools does some oversight of these students (there is a case manager for each of these students), but they are not technically "enrolled" in the public schools.

Maggie

Hey Benedetta - when they talk about alzheimers they ARE talking about autism. Same disease just a different name for the older crowd poisoned by years of inhaling vapors from their amalgam fillings. It's all just mercury poisoning.

Benedetta

Well that was not the impression that was given today on the "Good Morning America" show.

They said in a fearful voice that the baby boomers would all have alzie-heimers. They showed a graft and each big gold line representing (a decade??? not sure) got higher and higher and higher.

No mention of autism.

I guess babies just don't count.

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