By  Anne Dachel

“You wonder if these behaviors are caused by the MMR vaccines she had recently.”

There was an amazing opinion piece by Sandi Squicquero in the Greeley (CO) Tribune on Aug 27^th. The title was, The impacts of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Squicquero described a scenario familiar to uncountable numbers of parents of autistic children.

The birth of a child is a miraculous event.  Parents look forward to it with excitement and anticipation.

The day finally arrives and after the delivery Mom lovingly counts all of the fingers and toes and says a prayer of thanks that he or she is healthy.  Soon Mother and baby are being discharged to return home.

The nursery has been ready for months, decorated in nursery rhymes or fairy tale images.  Dad is excited, sibling’s are waiting at home to see this bundle of joy.

All is right with the universe.

Then she talked about thing not going right.

Before you know it you are celebrating your sweet’s second birthday. You  notice that your child has been having difficulty with language, her social skills are impaired and she is stimming, (repetitive action or movements such as rocking or spinning).

What she said next was almost a passing comment of no real significance, but in truth, it was a jaw-dropping statement.

You wonder if these behaviors are caused by the MMR vaccines she had recently. You consult with your family physician and after months of tests, you are told that your child has Autism Spectrum Disorder.

It is an emotionally crushing statement for parents to hear.

There was no follow-up to the MMR statement. It was just a random thought, but so true for a multitude of children. And maybe it wasn’t the MMR vaccines. Maybe it was the flu shot or any of a number of combinations of vaccines given at those “well baby checks.”

 Squicquero went on to talk about autism, saying, “Most of us will be touched by someone who has autism…”

That’s now a given. Twenty-five years ago few people knew anything about autism; now we all know children with the disorder. Everywhere people are being trained to deal with autistic individuals. Autism is now a fact of life for Americans.

Autism now affects 1 out of 36 children in the U.S. ages 3-17, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Diagnosis focuses on a variety of behavior characteristics in a child such as marked impairment in nonverbal behaviors, failure to develop social relationships, a delay or total lack of the development of spoken language, and difficulty with sensory issues.

Most of us will be touched by someone who has autism. Perhaps we are living with a family member, working with an employee or we are involved with someone on another level.

Will we understand their needs?

People with ASD have problems with social interaction, communication and restricted or repetitive behaviors. Diagnosing ASD can be difficult as there is no medical test like a blood test to diagnose the disorder. Doctors look at the child’s developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis….

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM5 describes three levels of ASD that are legitimate to the medical community.  They describe them as Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. …

The most important thing for people to focus on is awareness, prevention, cure and funding.

Squicquero said it’s important to focus on “prevention” among other things. Of course that can never happen.

Autism is a mystery, a puzzle with no known cause, cure or prevention, and that’s the way, officially, it’s going to stay.

Interestingly Squicquero talked about COST. Notice the difference between the BILLIONS autism cost the U.S. in 2022 and the paltry MILLIONS spent by NIH on dead-end autism research.

Autism cost the nation more than $350 billion in 2022, according to the CDC. Research funding in 2022 was $306 million, according to the National Institute of Health.

And those costs are unstoppable, because, as Squicquero notes, “Autism is on the rise.”

Autism is on the rise and though research shows there is a genetic predisposition, the causes and cure still elude researchers.  Early intervention is the key.

Squicquero ended with a timid call for “early intervention.” That will become impossible as more and more and more kids are diagnosed. There simply will be too many disabled children to provide for. Many places today have waiting lists that are years long just to get a diagnosis.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.

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