Responding to autism

Last week in a four-part series of stories, Southeast Missourian reporters Callie Clark and Bob Miller compellingly delved into the lives of autistic people and their families.

Clark and Miller spent a month researching and writing about children who to the rest of us seem to live in their own world. The reporters talked to many autistic children, parents, therapists and teachers, and the stories discussed the newest developments in autism research and legislation.

Over four days, readers followed the miraculous recovery of 10-year-old Ben Rushin's ability to speak and his family's determination to help him achieve everything he is capable of.

Ban thimerosal

The series and the concerns of scientists and parents alike made clear one action that needs to be taken. Legislation to ban the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from vaccines administered in Missouri should be enacted as quickly as possible.

In 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration advised pharmaceutical companies to reduce the amount of the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal or to remove it completely from vaccines administered to children. But the government agencies say no proof exists that thimerosal caused the enormous increase in autistic children that occurred during the 1990s. At the beginning of the 1990s, an aggressive push to increase the number of vaccines given American children meant they were injected with much higher amounts of mercury than before.

Other researchers say the thimerosal/autism link has been proven. Some believe children who develop autism may have more difficulty excreting heavy metals than other children do.

Currently, more than trace amounts of thimerosal still are found in some tetanus/diptheria, tetanus toxoid, adult hepatitis B, hepatitis A/B, influenza and meningococcal vaccines.

A bill already passed by the Missouri House of Representatives and awaiting scheduling in the Senate would prohibit giving immunizations containing mercury to children under age 8, though it would allow for trace amounts of thimerosal. Everyone 8 years old and over would have to be informed that they were receiving vaccines containing thimerosal.

The bill also would require insurers to pay the same percentage for thimerosal-free inoculations as for those containing mercury.

Four other states and Congress are working on imposing similar restrictions on thimerosal.

Proper diagnosis

Another problem that must be addressed is the difference between a medical diagnosis for autism and the diagnosis given by the educational system. If the schools decide the child's condition will not affect his or her education, the child cannot get special education services.

The number of Missouri children diagnosed with autism by the schools has increased by 850 percent since 1991. That number would be even higher using a medical diagnosis.

The differences between the medical and educational criteria for diagnosing autism should be brought into accord. The cost of treatment to a school system can be high, but educating all our children is the mission of our schools.

Readers of the series learned how hard autistic children, their families, therapists and teachers must work to make breakthroughs like connecting the word chair with the object itself. But the stories also gave great hope that breakthroughs are possible.

The stories taught us that autistic children are remarkable people who can lead remarkable lives.