The disability, which may be mild or severe, is four times more prevalent in boys, and about 75 percent of affected individuals test in the range of mental retardation. The prevalence rate for autism, estimated by the CDC to affect one in 500 individuals, has escalated at an alarming rate in certain regions, where increases of up to one in 150 individuals have been reported. Health experts have responded with more studies and treatments for a disorder with no proven cause or cure, even as existing services for developmentally disabled patients are overwhelmed. Scientists and parents are pursuing every possible connection or treatment that could pinpoint a cause or relieve painful symptoms for children who have become profoundly isolated and unable to respond to others. We also have social skills intervention studies because early training can help these children, and one new study is on explicit explanations of eye contact skills, turn-taking in conversation and others.
Any improvement is progress.
Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial. Researching a reason Many experts are looking for possible biomarkers in blood or genes that could indicate a child s predisposition to autism, while others are examining levels of medications or chemicals that may be involved in triggering the disability to cause the increase in prevalence. There s enough evidence for correlation that one has to look at these things. N.J. Another group has identified a preservative in some pediatric vaccines, thimerosal, as a trigger for autism. In 1998, parents and physicians launched the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute in Davis because they believed a possible link existed between environmental contributions and neurodevelopmental disorders.