For the First Time, a Census of Autistic Adults

Among the many great mysteries of autism is this: Where are all the adults with the disorder? In California, for instance, about 80% of people identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are 18 or under. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) indicate that about 1 in 150 children in the U.S. have autism, but despite the fact that autism is by definition a lifelong condition, the agency doesn't have any numbers for adults. Neither has anyone else. Until now.

Full Article: For the First Time, a Census of Autistic Adults



A participant eats during a day program for autistic adults run in New Jersey.

A Case Study in the Misrepresentation of Applied Behavior Analysis in Autism: The Gernsbacher Lectures

Witch doctors have been preying on parents with children with special needs for the longest time. Parents always have hope they can help their children and will usually spend their last dollar to do what they can to give these kids a better life.

As a parent with a child diagnosed with ASD I have been through the array of sales pitches and "professionals." Most of whom just want my money.

With the help of a few other parents I discovered ABA and the science behind it. The secret is, look for the data. If the "discovery" is only a year or two old there is no way they have any worthwhile data. Ask for the scientific journals and don't accept glossy brochures.

This article presents a case study in the misrepresentation of applied behavior analysis for autism based on Morton Ann Gernsbacher’s presentation of a lecture titled ‘‘The Science of Autism: Beyond the Myths and Misconceptions.’’ Her misrepresentations involve the characterization of applied behavior analysis, descriptions of practice guidelines, reviews of the treatment literature,
presentations of the clinical trials research, and conclusions about those trials (e.g., children’s improvements are due to development, not applied behavior analysis). The article also reviews applied behavior analysis’ professional endorsements and research support, and addresses issues in professional conduct. It ends by noting the deleterious effects that misrepresenting any research on autism (e.g., biological, developmental, behavioral) have on our understanding and treating it in a transdisciplinary context:

http://paulcoynephd.typepad.com/files/a-case-study-in-the-misreprensentation-of-applied-behavior-analysis-in-autim--the-gernsabacher-lectures.pdf

Some excerpts from the case study:

Gernsbacher did not review all the applied behavior-analytic research in autism. That would have been too great a task. Over 750 articles were published between 1960 and 1995 (DeMyer, Hingtgen, & Jackson, 1981; Matson, Benavidez, Compton, Paclawskyj, & Baglio, 1996) and hundreds more since then.

What Gernsbacher reviewed was a subset of the comprehensive programs for early intensive behavioral interventions (ABA-EIBI) that she referred to as ‘‘the Lovaas-style of behavioral treatment.’’3 Based on her review, she concluded that the effectiveness of applied behavior analysis for autism was another myth and misconception and that the gains made during treatment were due to the children’s
‘‘development,’’ not to ABA-EIBI.

What stunned me, then, was how she reached her conclusions: She inaccurately represented research reviews, wrongly characterized applied behavior-analytic interventions, misleadingly appealed to history, inaccurately conveyed research designs, selectively omitted research results, and incorrectly interpreted intervention outcomes. Although misrepresentations are often only a minor
nuisance in science, they can have harmful consequences, which I believe
hers did (and do), both locally and more broadly.

The local consequences included misinforming KU’s community members about ABA-EIBI; hundreds of KU students about a science of behavior and its application; current
and prospective ABS majors about a course of study at KU (and careers); and KU staff, faculty, and administrators about scholarship in a department renowned for its research in applied behavior analysis. The broader consequences include Gernsbacher’s probable influence on behavioral, social, and cognitive scientists who teach, conduct research, and provide services in autism; funding agencies and foundations who set priorities and allocate resources for autism research and applications; and state and federal agencies that set standards for autism services and funding. She has standing and stature in most, if not all, of these venues: in
APS, of course, but also in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where she is a psychology section member at large, and in the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she is on the Advisory Committee for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Although Gernsbacher surely gained these highly respected positions by conducting first-rate science, the hallmarks of her science were largely absent in this section of her lecture.

shhhhh! Autism is skyrocketing

Recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reportedly revised the rates of autism for the United States and the numbers are alarming. In 2007, the reported numbers were 1 in 150. Today, those numbers have skyrocketed to 1 in 100, and some say the numbers are closer to 1 in 89. According to David Kirby, the data is due to be released any day now.

CDC quietly revises autism rates to 1% of US children
http://www.wellsphere.com/endurance-training-article/cdc-quietly-revises-autism-rates-to-1-of-us-children/813102

Confirmation that the Autism Rate is now 1 in 100
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2009/08/confirmation-that-autism-rate-is-now-1.html

CDC quietly revises autism rates to 1% of US children
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9121-LA-Special-Needs-Kids-Examiner~y2009m9d26-CDC-quietly-revises-autism-numbers-to-1-of-US-children

Autism Rates Rocket – 1 in 38 British Boys – Cambridge Study
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/autism-rates-rocket/

CDC to Announce New 1 in 100 Autism Prevalence Rate
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2009/10/cdc-to-announce-new-1-in-100-autism.html

What to Cut

The government is cutting funds so fast I guess it is bound to make a few mistakes. Olympics are coming and we need more cash! Cut the funding for children's therapy! Big business wants to light up the north for mining and we need 400 million! Quick let's cut funding to the arts! Oh taxes are down and we are in a deficit! Okay let's stop providing help to the battered, abused and fearful women and children! Oh darn it! Maybe that was just too immoral... Okay we take it back.

Solicitor-General Kash Heed's office dropped a press release saying the government was backing away from the $440,000 cut to programs for family-violence victims -- mainly battered, abused and fearful women and children.

Full story: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Liberal%20backdowns%20just%20keep%20coming/2054175/story.html

Good on you Canadian government. So nice to see you care...

Shame on you

A follow up to my post on Canada: you have blood on your hands:

That tragedy was not the first nor will it likely be the last as nothing much changes from these tragedies.

In 1996 six-year-old Charles-Antoine Blais was held underwater by his mother’s hands until he drowned. In 1997 Danielle Blais was given a 23-month suspended sentence after being allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter. According to reports, Ms. Blais was depressed because she lacked the financial support that she needed for her son who had autism, and intended to commit suicide after killing him. "In the summer of 1997, Ms Blais was sentenced not to jail, but to a year in a community residential centre, and she was hired as a representative--a sort of role model--by Montreal's autism society, as promised by Ms Lahaie. [President of Montreal's Autism Society]

This couple just wanted support to care for the son at home(provide care givers,etc) and was turned down - their son loved to sit in the motorhome and listen to country music - that was what was playing when they found all 3. Yet, nothing has changed.....

On 30 December 2001, the bodies of three people were found in a parked motorhome in Kelowna, British Columbia. 57 year-old Maurice Baulne, and his wife Belva Baulne, age 54, and the couple's 34-year old disabled son Reece Baulne, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Reece had learning difficulties, therefore the Canadian law treats his death as murder, because he could not consent to the suicide pact. The couple left a suicide note explaining that a application for financial assistance to the Canadian Government was turned down. The Baulnes had developed health problems of their own and were fearful of Reece's welfare once they were no longer able to care for him.