back to Yazbak's letter to the BMJ and my answer.
California's Autism Epidemic Tsunami Rapidly Growing
[From California autism advocate Rick Rollens.]
(January 12, 2005)
According to the recently released report by the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS), California's 36-year old developmental services system has just experienced the largest number of new intakes of children with professionally diagnosed full syndrome autism during a Fourth Quarter reporting period in its history.
During the Fourth Quarter of 2004 (October - December), California's developmental services system added a record 807 new children with full syndrome autism, not including any children with any other autism spectrum disorder such as PDD, NOS, Asperger's, etc. The 807 new intakes represents a record number of new cases for a Fourth Quarter reporting period in the system's 36 year history. On average California added 9 new children every single day to its system with full syndrome during October, November, and December 2004. The 2004 Fourth Quarter numbers represent a 16% increase over the 2003 Fourth Quarter (676) intakes.
The 807 new cases of full syndrome autism reported during the Fourth Quarter of 2004 accounted for 52% of all the new intakes for all the eligible disabilities for that reporting period. The other eligible conditions are: mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and conditions such as Fragile X and Downs Syndrome that have mental retardation as a component of the condition. Full syndrome autism has for some time now been and continues to be the number one disability entering California's developmental services system.
The magnitude of this ongoing tragic epidemic is truly mind boggling. Ten years ago in January 1995, DDS reported that during the Fourth Quarter of 1994 the system added 142 new cases of full syndrome autism. Today, ten years later in January 2005, DDS reports that during the Fourth Quarter of 2004 there were 807 new cases added to the system. Ten years ago California's developmental services system had a total of 5,775 cases of full syndrome autism in its entire system. Ten years later in January 2005, there are now 26,578 cases of full syndrome autism in the system. In California's developmental services system, 8 out of 10 persons with full syndrome autism are between the ages of 3 and 17 years old, 7 out of 10 under the age of 14. The tsunami has arrived.
From the Schafer Autism Report
http://www.sarnet.org/lib/vol.01-06.htm
Rollens wrote this within a few weeks of the major disaster caused by a real tsunami in the Indian Ocean. I am not the only one who found this use of "tsunami" incredibly tasteless. Read "Trivial 'Tsunami?" near the end of this