At What Age Is Accurate Autism Diagnosis Possible?

Rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not creeping up so much as leaping up. New numbers just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that one in 68 children now has a diagnosis of ASD—a 30 percent increase in just two years. In 2002, about one in 150 children was considered autistic and in 1991 the figure was one in 500.

A clinician observes a child with his
mother at the Marcus Autism Center.

The staggering increase in cases of ASD should raise more suspicion in the medical community about its misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis than it does. Promoting early screening for autism is imperative. But, is it possible that the younger in age a child is when professionals screen for ASD—especially its milder cases—the greater the risk that a slow-to-mature child will be misperceived as autistic, thus driving the numbers up?

DSM Panel Shifts Course on Definition of Intellectual Disability, but Not Autism

Experts behind the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders didn’t back down on major changes to the definition of autism, but appear to have made an about-face when it comes to intellectual disability.
Initial plans to revise the diagnosis of “mental retardation” in the forthcoming fifth edition of the psychiatric manual called for the condition to be renamed “intellectual developmental disorder.” Critics blasted the proposal because it was inconsistent with the more commonly accepted term “intellectual disability” which has already been adopted in many federal and state laws.

Your Child's Autism Cures You From Trying to Please Everyone

Fron Huffington Post's Dafna Maor.

It was one of those things that anyone who works in the digital age comes across from time to time. Sometimes you send an email to the wrong person and then there is hell to pay. Oh, the shame. Sometimes, it's a Word document that gets deleted the second you finish writing a terrific proposal for a new project, the one which will catapult you to stardom at work. And sometimes, it's just a little misunderstanding of nuance when you use your instant messenger or Facebook chat to discuss work with a colleague.
Working in a media outlet doesn't necessarily guarantee that you are surrounded by people with high communication skills and knowledge of the human psyche. When egos and dispositions are involved, things tend to heat up.
It was a nice morning, and a colleague of mine was consulting with me, via messenger, about an idea for a feature for the supplement she was editing. In a matter of a few short minutes, that 'talk' turned very unpleasant. She wanted something and I suggested her idea was not very appealing. She asked for other ideas and I didn't have any, so I said maybe later. She asked why I was so hostile, and when I said she's reading something into my words that wasn't really there, she blew up. She walked over to my desk -- she was sitting just a few feet away, in a niche behind a wall. She demanded I come to the conference room and clear it up.
When this colleague, who is also a good friend, started ranting about hostility and uncooperativeness, I stopped her short.
It was a few months after my son had been diagnosed with autism.

Health Care Disparities for Children with ASD

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) require an array of specialized health care services. With these services come higher costs for parents and insurance providers. University of Missouri researchers compared costs and types of services for children with ASD to costs and services for children with other conditions like asthma or diabetes. The researchers found children with ASD paid more for health care than children with other conditions. In addition, children with ASD used more services yet had less access to specialized care"

Autism, Parents and Teachers: Bridging the Communication Gap

SFGate.com autism advocate blogger Laura Shumaker touches another critical issue.

I was talking to a group of teachers last week, something I do frequently, about my experience raising a child with autism. My favorite part of these talks is the Q and A. “You can ask me anything,” I say, “and I will answer to the best of my ability.”
I get a lot of juicy questions, but there is one that I am asked most frequently:

I could do a better job if I could communicate more with parents. How can I get them to talk to me?

I flash back to the year that I was that parent, and how his teacher bridged the communication gap.

For Girls with Autism, Middle School Years Can Be Particularly Challenging

Piece by Pamela Gross Downing, a special education teacher. Part 2 of her series will appear next week.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- When Maggie was little, she was a very precocious child. The family attributed the girl’s trouble sitting still to her constant curiosity. As a student, Maggie always did average to above average work in school. However, as the girl grew older, her behavior and disposition began to change. Maggie’s parents started noticing that their daughter was no longer fitting in with other children her age. That alone didn’t really concern them. Being different wasn’t the problem. Maggie had always been very creative and she displayed a special gift for art. The parents knew that their daughter’s inability to relate to her peers wasn’t the only issue of concern. The major difficulty was Maggie’s sudden unexpected outbursts at home and at school. Plus, the incidences were becoming more frequent.

Farm Provides a 'Life's Work' for Adults

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- When Wendy Kaplan gathered her 26-year-old daughter Rachel's circle of support to discuss options for living independently, she thought they would talk about moving to an apartment. But Rachel, who has autism and communicates through typing, had a different idea. She wanted to live on a farm.
Thus began SustainAbility, a one-acre farm is in the height of its inaugural season at the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, Long Island.