April was Autism Awareness Month, but lately autism awareness seems to be a 24/7 and 365-days-a-year proposition. Researchers continue to look for a root cause, but the prevalence of autism is on the rise.
In late March, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study saying that one in 88 children is diagnosed with having autism symptoms by age 8; that's up from one in 110 just six years ago. The numbers are even more alarming for boys -- one in 54.
But perhaps more troubling to parents who already have a child diagnosed is the pending revision of the autism definition as it appears in the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Publication of the new edition in May 2013 revises diagnostic criteria for psychiatric diagnoses.
Members of the American Psychiatric Association are charged with refining the definition. The changes have been criticized by many parents and advocacy groups. Opinions from health professionals have spanned a wide spectrum.
"It seems to be controversial," says Dr. Laura Murphy, chief of psychology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities. "There are a couple of schools of thought. One camp believes it will affect treatment. I'm not in either camp, but there are insurance companies that already won't cover autism as it is currently defined.
"Everybody's concerned," Murphy says.
"It's sort of like a dress rehearsal; you don't know until you get going on it what will come out of it."
The seriousness of autism symptoms can vary widely, but typically involve problems with social interaction, language and behavior. Among the more common symptoms that may show up in a child at a very early age: failure to make eye contact or respond to his or her name; speaking with an abnormal tone or rhythm and/or repeating words without necessarily understanding them; rocking or spinning; becoming obsessed with routine.
Meshea James, whose 15-year-old son, Trey, was diagnosed with autism at 22 months of age, and who in 2007 founded the nonprofit Visions Autism and Behavioral Consultants in Franklin County, Tenn., believes it is possible a new definition won't drastically affect services available to families, but only because "most services aren't being covered in the first place. I don't know how it could get much worse."
Most states have laws mandating more extensive insurance coverage for children with autism than what exist in Tennessee. The state's Autism Equity Act requires insurance plans that include services for neurological disorders to provide services to children with autism up to age 12. But the law is vague.
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New 'spectrum' definition of autism worries parents as number diagnosed increases