Autism "Awareness"

This term "Autism Awareness" has always been a little mind-boggling to me because Autism is becoming so prevalent that I don't know how people don't know about it. So to those of you who don't know about Autism here are some of the stats that I found on Generation Rescue's web site:

• 1 in 91 children (formally 1 in 150 up until 2009 and 1 in 10,000 in the early 1990s)
  
• 4:1 ratio of boys to girls
  
• 1 in 58 boys
  
• Fastest growing developmental disability
  
• More than 100 billion in estimated annual costs
  
• In ten years the annual costs are projected at 200-400 billion.
  
• Cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3rds with early intervention
  
• A family with a child with autism will fund 3 to 5 million dollars of services throughout the lifetime of the child.
  
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than cancer, diabetes, Downs Syndrome and AIDS combined.
  
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of most of the more prevalent childhood disorders.
  
• Approximately 1 million individuals in the US have autism
  
• Studies have shown that environmental toxins like mercury and pesticides can trigger autism.
  
• There has been no study that has directly linked a pure genetics basis for autism.
  
• The fastest growing genetic disorders increase at anapproximate rate of 1% per 100 years. Autism is growing at a much greater rate.

The Vaccine Connection

I know plenty of mom's who feel absolutely sure that vaccines triggered their childs' decent into Autism, but it is still up for debate. My kids' Pediatrician is wonderful and I recommend him to people when they are looking for a doctor, but he, like most Pediatricians, believes there is no link. If there is no link, it's uncanny how Autism usually occurs around the time that kids are being bombarded with vaccines. I'm not completely anti vaccines, but there are just too many given too young. Max was given a vaccine when he was barely over croup and his immune system may have been to compromised to handle it. Please make sure your children are good and healthy when they are vaccinated.

The Bottom Line

Be educated about your children's health. Processed foods, dyes, and preservatives may have a link to Autism as well. Pray for your children - even if they're not born yet! Follow God's leading in EVERYTHING! Trust the Lord and look for the joy in EVERY situation. Autism isn't the end of the world, it's just another view of the world.



Visit my Autism page for more info.

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