KATC Acadiana-Lafayette, LA 

"Autism Society Acadiana, in collaboration with Lafayette City Police Department, is sponsoring a FREE autism training seminar for law enforcement officers and first responders."

The discussion on the video should have everyone's attention. Why do first responders need training to recognize the symptoms of autism? Why is a once rare disorder now so common that everyone knows someone with an autistic child? What is happening to our children?

"Recent statistics, those numbers have gone up so much."

"One in fifty."

"One in fifty people are diagnosed with some form of autism."

The Tennessean 

Vanderbilt U is working to make doctors even better at "better diagnosing"

"Tennessee has a shot at setting the national standard for early diagnosis and treatment of autism if it follows the model set by a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study, a researcher said."

Just how good are doctors going to get at diagnosing autism? When will it stop? Next year will it be one in every 25 kids? Health officials and other experts seem unconcerned about what autism is doing to our children. ASD has no official cause or cure. There's nothing a mainstream doctor can tell a new mother so that her child that was born healthy and is developing normally won't regress into autism by age two.

San Francisco Chronicle 

Three studies from the MIND Institute link autism to cerebrospinal fluid and enlarged brains in infancy along with faulty maternal antibodies. 

Laura Shumaker asks, "Do you have questions? Contact me...and I will do my very best to help."

Actually I have lots of questions but the SF Chronicle blocked me several months ago from posting on stories.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

 "The financial burden of finding services for autistic adults often falls on families, added Mr. Doyle."

"One study estimated families can spend up to $50,000 a year for autism services, or $3.5 million to $5 million over a lifetime."

My comments:

"There are also an unknown number of older citizens who have been living with autism for years without ever getting a diagnosis."

What "older citizens"?

In 2010, during a talk at NIH, Dr. Thomas Insel noted that autism is an epidemic that overwhelming affects children and that we need to prepare this nation for "a million people who may need significant services."

Currently the rate is one in every 50 U.S. children, one in 31 among boys alone.

The rate isn't based on studies of adults. No one has ever been able to find a comparable figure for adults---especially those with severe autism, whose symptoms are easily recognized. Dr. Insel himself has said that 80 percent of autistic Americans are under the age of 18.

Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism

"One study estimated families can spend up to $50,000 a year for autism services, or $3.5 million to $5 million over a lifetime."

Actually most families don't spend that much. How could they? Right now families are going bankrupt trying to get as much help as they can afford, but the real cost of autism falls on the schools.

The millions for lifetime care will of course be paid by the taxpayers.

The figure $3.5 million is from a Harvard study in 2006 by Michael Ganz. I contacted Ganz at the time and he said his figure was "conservative." Others put lifetime care cost at between $5 and $7 million each. Parents I know with a severely autistic 15 year old son in a group home in Minnesota told me that he will easily cost the state a million dollars by the time he's 21 and that doesn't include the cost of his education.

Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism

Seattle Times 

"But over time, my view has become more nuanced. I never would choose autism for my son, whose condition severely limits his ability to communicate and, therefore, our ability to know him.

"But, here's the important part: The boy I love would not be that boy without autism. He would be somebody different.

"Seattle Children's responded quickly, taking the ads down and posting a statement on Facebook: 'We are sorry for the hurt and anger these ads have caused - that was never (the ads') intent.'

"A very appropriate response by a regional treasure of an institution devoted to children's health. The incident in no way detracts from the work the hospital and its research institute have done to help children with autism get the care they need. My son has been a patient since he was 10 months old."

Dialogue? Should we or should we not WIPE OUT AUTISM? The very fact that this discussion is going on is stunning proof that the public has been incredibly deceived about autism. When autism bankrupts us everywhere on a scale of a Pearl Harbor or 9/11, we'll finally wake up. I'm sure our lack of urgency, alarm, and compassion will mystify historians for decades to come.

The Province Vancouver BC

"Researchers identified genetic alterations 'likely to be associated with ASD or its accompanying clinical symptoms,' said principal investigator Stephen Scherer, director of the Centre for Applied Genomics at Sick Kids."

Lead author Stephen Scherer believes genetics can explain why a once rare disorder is now so common that everyone knows someone with an autistic child. Thousands of parents say that it was the vaccines their healthy children received. After being vaccinated, they got sick, lost learned skills, regressed into autism. Doctors call this just a coincidence and they have lots of studies, all shown to have ties to the drug industry, showing no link.

Scherer holds the GlaxoSmithKine Research Chair in Genome Sciences at The Hospital for Sick Children and U. of Toronto. Is it any wonder that his focus is on coming up with drugs for autism and NOT looking at what vaccines are doing to our children?

Daily News & Analysis 

"A new research has found a full genome sequencing examining the entire DNA code of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their family members - a finding that could provide a definitive look at the wide ranging genetic variations associated with ASD."

Lead author Stephen Scherer hopes that his findings will result in "pharmacological intervention." Scherer holds the GlaxoSmithKine Research Chair in Genome Sciences at The Hospital for Sick Children and U. of Toronto. Is it any wonder that his focus is on coming up with drugs for autism and NOT looking at what vaccines are doing to our children.

WSJ: Autism Epidemic Linked to Epidemic of Vaccine Induced Diabetes

"A new peer reviewed study was published in the current issue of Open Access, Scientific Reports (Volume 2, Issue 3, 2013) linking the autism epidemic to the epidemic of vaccine induced type 1 diabetes. Growing evidence shows that a large percentage of cases of autism have an inflammatory or autoimmune component. The new data shows autism is strongly linked to type 1 diabetes another epidemic inflammatory disease where the epidemic has been proven to be caused by vaccines. The new paper is authored by immunologist J. Bart Classen, MD."

ABC2 Baltimore 

"Playing and socializing happens naturally for kids. But not those with autism spectrum disorder."

Yeah, yeah, learn the signs. 

Maybe we should call this .... THE LATEST FROM THE FOLKS MAKING THEIR LIVING OFF THE EPIDEMIC.......

Watch the video LEARN THE SIGNS. 

US News 

"Between climate change deniers roaming the halls of Congress and public schools teaching stealth creationism, there is no shortage of anti-science in the public sphere. However, making Jenny McCarthy the newest co-host of ABC's 'The View' would give a new, huge platform to the pseudoscience brigade. (Rumors have swirled that McCarthy will replace Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who is headed to Fox News, on the morning talk show.)

"McCarthy has been at the forefront of spreading the myth that childhood vaccines cause autism, pointing to the case of her son, Evan, whom she claimed was made autistic by the immunization shots he received and is now "healed," as Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams writes. Never mind that an extensive body of research has found that there is absolutely no link between childhood immunization and autism."

Blaming Jenny McCarthy.  Will it ever stop?  I posted lots of comments.

Eurekalert.org 

"Definitive look at inherited and de novo genetic mutations and risk genes found in half of the families tested holds promise for future diagnosis, prevention and treatment."

Two things are important to note in this junk science from Autism Speaks. Even AS can't pretend that all the autism is not a real epidemic. They add the bit below about it being caused by GENES and "environmental influences." And of course there's no follow-up because the whole purpose here is convince the public that autism is genetic. YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CHILD'S AUTISM! Now just go away.

And what does "prevention" refer to? Screening pregnant women and aborting their autistic babies so we can end the epidemic?

US News

"Autism-friendly performances of  'Wicked,' 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' and 'The Lion King' are on tap for later this year and next....

"The Fund bought all the tickets to the three matinees and will offer them at a discount for children and adults on the autism spectrum.

"The shows will be slightly altered to make those with autism more comfortable, including cutting jarring sounds and strobe lights. Quiet areas with beanbag chairs and coloring books, staffed by autism experts, also will be created inside the theater for those who might feel overwhelmed."

Wow, there may not be jobs or services for autistic adults and kids with autism have to go without therapy, but we do have some really nice Broadway plays for them to watch. I left a comment.

San Francisco Chronicle

"Adults with autism, housing, and residential support:

"Within the next decade, a minimum of 500,000 individuals with autism will enter adulthood. Many of these individuals will require access to the adult services system - a system that can have exceedingly long waiting lists and few autism-specific supports for adults on the autism spectrum."

It seems that Autism Speaks is taking charge of the approaching tsunami of adults with autism. The SF Chronicle asks us to take their survey. Of course, there's no explanation for why there aren't services in place right now if it's all just better diagnosing.

It's only a "dilemma." There's nothing to worry about because Autism Speaks has come up with 'Housing and Residential Supports Tool Kit' to assist all those with adult ASD children.

I can't wait for Autism Speaks to explain how we'll pay for this nightmare.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.