Prevalence
Autism Risk Rises With Age Of Father
By Alex Plank on September 5, 2006
The Washington Post Reports:Children born to fathers of advancing age are at significantly higher risk of developing autism compared with children born to younger fathers, according a comprehensive study published yesterday that offers surprising new insight into one of the most feared disorders of the brain.
The finding comes at a time of great controversy over autism in the United States, as a recent surge in diagnoses has fueled...
Three Reasons Not To Believe In An Autism Epidemic
By Alex Plank on July 4, 2005
ScienceDaily.com reports: Some people think we are witnessing an autism epidemic. However, according to a new report published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, there are three good reasons not to believe in this so-called epidemic.Link to article
Autism cases increase
By Alex Plank on May 30, 2005
Google News reports: Pittsburg Morning Sun, KS - 6 hours agoBryce Commons of Pittsburg is one of about 500,000 kids in the United States with an autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disorder of the brain that causes problems with social and communication skills.
Autism: A reportable disease?
By Alex Plank on May 26, 2005
Parents of 1,600 children were informed that their child(ren) were involved in a federal study of autism only after a computer containing the childrens' names was stolen.The childrens' names had been collected by the Colorado State Department of Health and Environment which classifies autism as a "reportable disease." This classification triggers reporting requirments.
The complete article may be found at
Unusually low rate of Autism in the Amish community
By Alex Plank on April 29, 2005
In this article , The Age of Autism: The Amish anomaly, the Washington Times looks at unusually low rates of autism in the Amish Community and speculates as to why.This is the first article of a two article series.
Scientists baffled as autism cases soar in state, with no relief in sight
By Alex Plank on February 13, 2005
California's mysterious explosion of autism cases worsened in 2004, disappointing researchers who had hoped the number of new diagnoses would level off as they searched for an explanation for the neurological disorder.Experts say spike in autism figures could be anomaly
By Alex Plank on August 21, 2004
As the number of children with autism in California continues to multiply, so too are the questions about what has caused the rise. Meantime, some health and education experts question the validity of the statistics that point to the increase in caseload. One in every 250 children in the state is autistic and from 1998 to 2002, the population of autistic children served by the state doubled. "It's significantly higher than we ever thought...