By JAMES DEMETRIADES

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last weekend, Autism Speaks, a Fordham Club, hosted “Light It Up Blue,” an event to spread awareness on autism spectrum disorder and raise money for autism research.  This is an international event run by Autism Speaks which features buildings around the world, from the Sydney Opera House to the Empire State Building, lit blue to spread awareness of autism. The month of April is Autism Awareness Month and there has never been a more crucial time to spread awareness and information about autism.

Autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to the Autism Speaks “is a general term for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.”

There is no one cause for autism and current research is allowing a greater understanding of the disorder. Evidence now supports an array of possible origins of autism ranging from environmental to genetic factors, but more research must be done in order to develop a better understanding of the causes and to find an effective treatment.  The recent increase in diagnoses has placed pressure on the scientific community to discover the causes of this disability.

A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stunned people across the nation, when it reported that now 1 in 50 children in the USA between the ages of six and 17 have some form of autism.  When compared to the last report five years ago which found that 1 in 88 children, this is a significant increase.  In 2002, over a decade ago, the CDC reported the figure to be 1 in 150 children, that is nearly a 300 percent increase in 11 years.

Stephen Falzone, GSB ’15, is a member of Autism Speaks and when informed of this increase was stunned.

“1 in 50 is really scary, you would think the number would decrease as the definition has been redefined, but it has done the opposite and it has increased instead,” Falzone said. “We don’t know the reason behind the increase, so who knows if it will increase further.”

Stephen is not alone in questioning the cause for the significant increase; many others have voiced this question. The CDC released an official response as part of the report.

“Together, these findings suggest that the increase in prevalence of parent-reported ASD may have resulted from improved ascertainment of ASD by doctors and other health care professionals in recent years, especially when the symptoms are mild,” the CDC authors wrote. “Changes in the ascertainment of ASD could occur because of changes in ASD awareness among parents or health care professionals, increased access to diagnostic services, changes in how screening tests or diagnostic criteria are used, or increased special education placements in the community.”

Whatever the specific cause for the increase, this study is an alarming report that has equally alarming consequences for families across the nation and their respective school districts. As a sibling of a sister with autism, I understand the difficulties and sacrifices that accompany this diagnosis. Hundreds of children and their families throughout the nation will struggle to manage the disability while looking for fiscal and emotional support.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Act, children are afforded “a free and appropriate public education,” despite any disabilities they have, and they cannot be denied services because of their disability. Autistic children require hours of one-on-one speech therapy, individual attention from paraprofessionals, and possibly medical attention from physical therapists.

These services are often times both expensive and time-consuming. It is time-consuming on the part of the parents to find the best programs for their children and on the part of the school administrators in order to ensure these students are receiving adequate in school support.  Additionally, the costs of these services put excess pressure on the already tightly and often times underfunded school districts across the nation.

The increased rate of prevalence of autism will have lasting ramifications on schools, families and the country. We must call onto our neighbors and ourselves to help spread awareness of autism, raise money for research and accommodate with open arms these children into our workplaces, homes and communities.

James Demetriades, FCRH ’15, is a history major from Cromwell, Conn.