The United States of "Autism"

Roosevelt Mitchell III, M.Ed

The United States of "Autism"

The month of April is autism awareness month and this year it is very important because our nation is currently unaware of the rising tide of autism. According to the U.S. Census in 2010, 19 percent or 56.7 million people has a developmental delay of some kind. From 2005 to 2010 alone the total number of people with disabilities increased 2.2 million, at that rate in 20 years; 100 million people will have a disability of some sort. The disability that will cogently add to that estimation, thus making the overall number astronomical is the prevalence of Autism. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined.

Autism is the fastest-growing developmental delay in the U.S. Before the 1980s, the term "autism" was used primarily to refer to autistic disorder and was thought to be rare, affecting approximately one in every 2,000 (0.5%) children (Rice, 2009) Autism was added to the Individuals with Disabilities Act in 1990. Currently, one out of every 88 children is affected by autism and one out of 56 boys is affected, with boys being four times more likely than girls to have autism. If the growth of Autism continues on its meteoric incline, what will become of the future of our nation? Will there be a futuristic decline in our military? How will autism impact leadership in America on varying levels? Currently there is no cure or medical detection for the disability (Autism Speaks). So it is very troublesome when an individual is not diagnosed because they are not properly educated, therefore; cannot receive any treatment and is put in an tough situation to succeed in life. Society assumes that they are mentally healthy due to not having a label and that ultimately puts them at risk to possibly add to the mass incarceration rate and prison industrial complex statistics. Contrary to popular belief, people with mental illness and drug addiction account for half of the prison population, so the natural history of these diseases often leads to behaviors that result in incarceration (Ridgeway and Casella, 2011). Autism does not choose a particular race, socioeconomic status or demographic, it affects everyone across the board.

We must come together as a community and raise awareness on the issue so children can get early screenings. We must attack this epidemic head on through research, raising awareness and implementing researched based methods of early intervention. Since the diagnosis is theoretically still new there are a lot of educators who are not trained in the Autism arena, and there are many families who need the proper information and supports as well. If we do not take action and continue our "laissez faire" approach we will soon, possibly next year, be in juxtaposition with South Korea whose Autism prevalence is 1 out of every 38 children. Either we will become seriously engaged in seeking the causes and treatments of the disability or we will soon become the "United States of Autism."