My husband is in the Air Force and we are stationed in Okinawa. We get free satellite TV here (major network programing) that is sort of a military service…all the commercials are US history or geography facts or public service announcement type things. One PSA they have been showing lately claims that 1 out of every 166 kids is autistic. Is this true? That seems awfully high. If it is true (or close to it) has there been a dramatic increase lately or has it always been like this?
While we’re at it, tell me about autism in general. Does autism affect only the brain or are there other physical problems? Do autistics have the same lifespan as regular people? I rarely hear about adult autistics…what percentage of them are institutionalized? Who pays for it if the family won’t? Anecdotes are welcome. Thanks in advance.
My wife deals with autistic children on a daily basis. I have nothing to add but a question myself. Would this number pertain to the US or worldwide? The way my wife makes it sound, there are a higher percentage of Americans diagnosed with autism compared to other countries.
I haven’t got the time to research a comprehensive autism post. I did want to pass along an interesting anecdote.
My youngest brother was considered autistic from his toddlerhood through about high school. He was high-functioning in his school subjects (very little mainstreaming) from about 6th grade on. He was always awkward socially, and people who don’t know him pick up that something is “off” about him within a few minutes. He can, however, carry on a conversation just fine … the manifestations of his disorder are more things like volume control of his voice and the cadence of his speech.
Anyway … about the time he left high school (with an equivalency diploma), he was evaluated again. This time around, they said something like “well … maybe he’s not autistic after all … we don’t really know. We’d say he’s autstic, but he’s too high functioning.”
So … the impression I was left with is that there may be degrees of autism – sometimes mild, sometimes severe, and everything in between. Further, FWIW, my understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome (without doing any last-second research online) is that some authorities believe that Asperger’s is “merely” a mild form of autism, with both disorders lying along the same continuum.