Students react to report's implications
Sophomore Ashley Hanson expects to field questions when she tells people she tutors a 5-year-old autistic child.
"People are usually impressed or surprised that I do something like that," Hanson said. "Basically, they ask what I do with him and what kind of programs we use."
Hanson does not mind answering the questions, but she said she hopes that a recent study regarding the increased prevalence of autism released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will create an even greater awareness of the disorder.
Autism is one of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders. According to the CDC, ASDs are "developmental disabilities that cause substantial impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behaviors and interests."
Earlier studies placed the rate of autism at one in 166 children; however, the CDC study found the rate to be significantly higher, citing that as many as one in every 150 children may have the disorder.
Hanson, who also works at a camp for children with disabilities, said she has seen the increase firsthand.
"I think it is somewhat of a trend," Hanson said. "I work at a camp for children with disabilities, and in the last couple of years I feel that the diagnosis of autism has increased."
However, she said she is skeptical as to whether the increase is due to a true rise in cases or if it is a result of overdiagnosis.
Wendy Stone, director of the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders, a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development program, and co-director of partner organization The Marino Autism Research Institute, said the increase is likely due to a rise in awareness of the disorder, a change in the diagnostic criteria and the fact that children are being diagnosed at a younger age.
Stone said she believes that in light of the study's findings, "we need to ramp up our services for children and their families at every level - federal, state and city."
"In all aspects of our community and communities nationwide we are going to have to be ready to recognize autism and to treat it," Stone said. "(The study) points to the importance of research funding to understand the causes of the increased prevalence."
Junior Erin Mutispaugh, who provides Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy for a 6-year-old child with autism, agrees that more research is needed.
"Knowing how many kids have autism isn't as important as knowing interventions that work," she said.
Currently the CDC's Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Epidemiology are working on a study that will help to answer many of the questions needed to find the causes of autism and to discover strategies that may help to prevent the disorder.
In the meantime, however, Hanson said she feels there are more questions surrounding the disorder than answers. Even after doing a vast amount of research and writing a multitude of papers on the topic, she said she feels there is much more for researchers to learn.
Despite the lack of information surrounding autism, there is one thing Hanson said she knows for sure - working with children with autism is the most rewarding thing she does.
"I have days where I am so frustrated with him that I never want to go back, and then the next day he'll be perfect; he will exceed my expectations," Hanson said. "So, it is quite a roller coaster. It is unbelievably rewarding."
Hanson encourages others to take the time to get to know someone with autism as well.
"They can be very closed off and in their own world, but they give you little hints of who they are even when you can't see it every day," she said.
