The topic of children and young adults living with autism has once again captured
the attention of the mainstream media. Autism is becoming so prevalent in today’s
public discourse that the producers of popular reality television shows have purchased
the rights to a documentary on the topic (
). While, at first blush, this may seem to bring this disorder into the light of public
acceptance, it also is a clarion call for health care professionals to ensure that
the condition is understood and managed well, and not simply characterized as a personality
quirk. This newfound attention is most recently due to the results of the first and
largest summary of prevalence data taken from multiple US communities. In a report
published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in February 2007—the first
published results from the organization’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring
Network—researchers suggest that approximately one in every 150 children in the United
States has autism or a closely related disorder. The number of children apparently
affected—560,000 nationwide if the statistics are reflective of all 50 states—makes
autism now more than ever a “major public health concern” according to Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp
who conducted the survey (
2
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References
- Bunim-Murray forms film unit.Variety. 2007 (March 18. Available at: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961373.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Accessed April 2, 2007.)
- 1 in 150 children in U.S. has autism, new survey finds.Washington Post. 2007 (February 9:A06. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020801883.html. Accessed March 8, 2007.)
- Nutrition and autism: Are they linked?.Today’s Dietitian. 2005; 7: 31
- What happens when they grow up. Newsweek. November 27, 2006.Newsweek. 2006 (November 27. Available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15792805/site/newsweek/. Accessed March 8, 2007.)
- Dietary supplement use is prevalent among children with a chronic illness.J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105: 78-84
- Position of the American Dietetic Association: Providing nutrition services for infants, children, and adults with developmental disabilities and special health care needs.J Am Diet Assoc. 2004; 104: 97-107
Autism Society of America. Treatment: Biomedical & Dietary Approaches. Available at: http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_treatment_biomedical. Accessed March 8, 2007.
Article info
Footnotes
This article was written by Tony Peregrin, a freelance writer in Chicago, IL.
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
