The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study released today that looked at data from 14 communities. Autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than girls – with 1 in 54 boys identified.
The number of children identified with ASDs ranged from 1 in 210 children in Alabama to 1 in 47 children in Utah. The largest increases were among Hispanic and black children.
The report, Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008, provides autism prevalence estimates from 14 areas. It was published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“This information paints a picture of the magnitude of the condition across our country and helps us understand how communities identify children with autism,” said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “That is why HHS and our entire administration has been working hard to improve the lives of people living with autism spectrum disorders and their families by improving research, support, and services.”
“One thing the data tells us with certainty – there are more children and families that need help,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We must continue to track autism spectrum disorders because this is the information communities need to guide improvements in services to help children.”
The results of CDC’s study highlight the importance of the Obama administration’s efforts to address the needs of people with ASDs, including the work of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IACC’s charge is to facilitate ASD research, screening, intervention, and education. As part of this effort, the National Institutes of Health has invested in research to identify possible risk factors and effective therapies for people with ASDs.
Study results from the 2008 surveillance year show 11.3 per 1,000 8-year-old children have been identified as having an ASD. This marks a 23 percent increase since the last report in 2009. Some of this increase is due to the way children are identified, diagnosed and served in their communities, although exactly how much is due to these factors is unknown. “To understand more, we need to keep accelerating our research into risk factors and causes of autism spectrum disorders,” said Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., M.S.Hyg., director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The study also shows more children are being diagnosed by age 3, an increase from 12 percent for children born in 1994 to 18 percent for children born in 2000. “Unfortunately, 40 percent of the children in this study aren’t getting a diagnosis until after age 4. We are working hard to change that,” said Boyle.
The most important thing for parents to do is to act quickly whenever there is a concern about a child’s development.
Talk to your child’s doctor about your concerns.
Call your local early intervention program or school system for an assessment.
Remember you do not need a diagnosis to access services for your child.
To learn more about this study, visit CDC.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
From Awareness to Respect: Community Life By Guest Blogger Commissioner Sharon Lewis, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
MARCH 26, 2012
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act considers the issues of “self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life” for individuals with developmental disabilities. All of these values presume respect for people with developmental disabilities. Where respect is lacking, self determination and independence are often denied. Integration and inclusion without respect become merely symbolic. As we celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2012, it is clear we have achieved much over the past 50 years, but we still have far to go before we can claim full success.
In recent conversations with young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD), I have heard many incredible stories about their college experiences, their great jobs and their wonderful apartments and shared living arrangements – lives that don’t sound very different from those of other twenty-somethings. The young woman from Massachusetts who graduated and is now working as a teacher’s assistant at competitive wages. The guys from Wisconsin who just moved into apartments in an inclusive community where they host football parties for their neighbors on the weekends, and are excited to be able to invite girls over (without the watchful eyes of their mothers!). The young woman from Iowa who is supported by her family in her efforts to run her own coffee shop – a popular local gathering place and a connection to the community. And my friend from Oregon who has worked for an independent bookseller for more than a decade, hiring his own staff and purchasing his own vehicle, despite having no verbal language and other significant disabilities.
Yet for each of these positive stories, I hear dozens and dozens more from youth and young adults who have not yet been able to experience the lives they hope for – people who have experienced abuse at the hands of a provider or a family member; been physically restrained or secluded in our schools; who want a real job but cannot escape the sheltered workshop environment; who want to live on their own or with friends but are stuck in an institution, group home or with family; who have significant communication or behavioral barriers and do not have access to the support they need in order to express their choices, let alone their dreams.
For nearly every one of these young adults, whether they are enjoying good opportunities or experiencing substantial barriers, the path to and through adulthood is still often fraught with discrimination, low expectations, limited opportunities and lack of respect for people with ID/DD. Despite decades of civil rights protections, we still have more than 115,000 people with ID/DD living in large congregate institutions, while more than 120,000 people wait for home and community-based services. The graduation rate hovers around 35 percent, less than a quarter of people with ID/DD work in competitive integrated employment and people with ID/DD experience disproportionately high poverty rates.
At the same time, we have recently seen media stories and difficult debates about wrongful birth lawsuits, growth attenuation treatments (medical treatments that involve administering estrogen in order to reduce growth) for the convenience of caregivers, continued use of aversive therapies, bullying among our youth and use of harmful restraints in schools. Just last week, autistic adults held a candlelit vigil to remember the life of a young man with autism killed by his mother in a tragic murder/suicide, while some wondered whether it was understandable for a mother to commit such an act.
What do these stories and these statistics tell us about ourselves and our society’s assumptions about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? How far are we from meaningful self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion?
At what point do we move from seeking simple awareness about intellectual and developmental disabilities to expecting meaningful respect for people with ID/DD?
Self advocates understand the difference. They are working tirelessly to eliminate the R-word, to expand home and community living options, to convince employers to give people with disabilities a fair chance at a fair wage, to empower youth with disabilities to speak for themselves, to help families understand why it is important to maintain high expectations…quite simply, to change our perceptions and fundamentally shift attitudes across this country about people with ID/DD.
Ensuring that we have a strong and vibrant self-advocacy movement across our country is a key priority for the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD). ADD has been working with national self advocacy organizations (Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, National Youth Leadership Network), our network (Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection and Advocacy systems, University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities), and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services to host a series of regional self-advocacy summits involving every state and territory. By bringing together state leadership teams, we hope to energize and guide our efforts to support the self-advocacy movement at both the state and national level, and ensure that the next generation of self-advocacy leaders has a solid foundation to build upon.
We all have a responsibility to ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive not only our care, but our respect. It is time to move beyond awareness.
Sharon Lewis was appointed Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in March 2010. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, she served as the Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor and as a Kennedy Public Policy Fellow for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children & Families. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Distinguished Leadership in National Disability Policy Award and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Chairman’s Award.
Commissioner Lewis also worked for the Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition, the Oregon Family Action Coalition Team, founded DisabilityCompass.org and managed the Oregon Partners in Policymaking Program. She is a parent to three daughters, including one with a disability. She is also a native of Michigan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act considers the issues of “self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life” for individuals with developmental disabilities. All of these values presume respect for people with developmental disabilities. Where respect is lacking, self determination and independence are often denied. Integration and inclusion without respect become merely symbolic. As we celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2012, it is clear we have achieved much over the past 50 years, but we still have far to go before we can claim full success.
In recent conversations with young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD), I have heard many incredible stories about their college experiences, their great jobs and their wonderful apartments and shared living arrangements – lives that don’t sound very different from those of other twenty-somethings. The young woman from Massachusetts who graduated and is now working as a teacher’s assistant at competitive wages. The guys from Wisconsin who just moved into apartments in an inclusive community where they host football parties for their neighbors on the weekends, and are excited to be able to invite girls over (without the watchful eyes of their mothers!). The young woman from Iowa who is supported by her family in her efforts to run her own coffee shop – a popular local gathering place and a connection to the community. And my friend from Oregon who has worked for an independent bookseller for more than a decade, hiring his own staff and purchasing his own vehicle, despite having no verbal language and other significant disabilities.
Yet for each of these positive stories, I hear dozens and dozens more from youth and young adults who have not yet been able to experience the lives they hope for – people who have experienced abuse at the hands of a provider or a family member; been physically restrained or secluded in our schools; who want a real job but cannot escape the sheltered workshop environment; who want to live on their own or with friends but are stuck in an institution, group home or with family; who have significant communication or behavioral barriers and do not have access to the support they need in order to express their choices, let alone their dreams.
For nearly every one of these young adults, whether they are enjoying good opportunities or experiencing substantial barriers, the path to and through adulthood is still often fraught with discrimination, low expectations, limited opportunities and lack of respect for people with ID/DD. Despite decades of civil rights protections, we still have more than 115,000 people with ID/DD living in large congregate institutions, while more than 120,000 people wait for home and community-based services. The graduation rate hovers around 35 percent, less than a quarter of people with ID/DD work in competitive integrated employment and people with ID/DD experience disproportionately high poverty rates.
At the same time, we have recently seen media stories and difficult debates about wrongful birth lawsuits, growth attenuation treatments (medical treatments that involve administering estrogen in order to reduce growth) for the convenience of caregivers, continued use of aversive therapies, bullying among our youth and use of harmful restraints in schools. Just last week, autistic adults held a candlelit vigil to remember the life of a young man with autism killed by his mother in a tragic murder/suicide, while some wondered whether it was understandable for a mother to commit such an act.
What do these stories and these statistics tell us about ourselves and our society’s assumptions about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? How far are we from meaningful self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion?
At what point do we move from seeking simple awareness about intellectual and developmental disabilities to expecting meaningful respect for people with ID/DD?
Self advocates understand the difference. They are working tirelessly to eliminate the R-word, to expand home and community living options, to convince employers to give people with disabilities a fair chance at a fair wage, to empower youth with disabilities to speak for themselves, to help families understand why it is important to maintain high expectations…quite simply, to change our perceptions and fundamentally shift attitudes across this country about people with ID/DD.
Ensuring that we have a strong and vibrant self-advocacy movement across our country is a key priority for the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD). ADD has been working with national self advocacy organizations (Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, National Youth Leadership Network), our network (Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection and Advocacy systems, University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities), and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services to host a series of regional self-advocacy summits involving every state and territory. By bringing together state leadership teams, we hope to energize and guide our efforts to support the self-advocacy movement at both the state and national level, and ensure that the next generation of self-advocacy leaders has a solid foundation to build upon.
We all have a responsibility to ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive not only our care, but our respect. It is time to move beyond awareness.
Sharon Lewis was appointed Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in March 2010. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, she served as the Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor and as a Kennedy Public Policy Fellow for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children & Families. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Distinguished Leadership in National Disability Policy Award and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Chairman’s Award.
Commissioner Lewis also worked for the Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition, the Oregon Family Action Coalition Team, founded DisabilityCompass.org and managed the Oregon Partners in Policymaking Program. She is a parent to three daughters, including one with a disability. She is also a native of Michigan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
Monday, March 26, 2012
NWBA Gulf Coast Conference Championship
Check out the Video at JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - A "Weekend of Victory", that's what the National Wheelchair Basketball Association is labeling it's Gulf Coast Conference Championship tournament at Jackson State.
Saturday, four teams competed for the right to be named Gulf Coast Conference Champions at the Walter Payton Center on the campus of Jackson State University.
This is the first conference championship in over 10 years.
Antonio Wright's MACE organization (Metro Area Community Empowerment) hosted the tournament.
Wright says the support for the event was amazing.
"You just don't understand the love that we have been shown this week and how important is for us because these young people work their butts off and it just means so much to us," said MACE founder Antonio Wright.
The University of Southern Miss wheelchair team won the conference championship.
To learn more about the MACE organization visit their website: http://www.macemississippi.org/
Saturday, four teams competed for the right to be named Gulf Coast Conference Champions at the Walter Payton Center on the campus of Jackson State University.
This is the first conference championship in over 10 years.
Antonio Wright's MACE organization (Metro Area Community Empowerment) hosted the tournament.
Wright says the support for the event was amazing.
"You just don't understand the love that we have been shown this week and how important is for us because these young people work their butts off and it just means so much to us," said MACE founder Antonio Wright.
The University of Southern Miss wheelchair team won the conference championship.
To learn more about the MACE organization visit their website: http://www.macemississippi.org/
Monday, March 5, 2012
FEMA Press Release
FEMA AND ITS FEDERAL PARTNERS STAND READY TO SUPPORT STATES AFFECTED BY SEVERE WEATHER
WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the entire federal family, is continuing to closely monitor conditions following severe storms that affected much of the Midwest and Southern states this week.
FEMA, through our regional offices in Kansas City, Mo., Chicago, Ill. and Atlanta, Ga., is in close contact with state emergency officials in states that are being affected by severe weather, including tornadoes. FEMA's National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., and its Regional Response Coordination Center in Chicago, Ill. are fully activated to support state requests for assistance.
FEMA's regional administrators have been in touch with state emergency management officials for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones and those whose lives have been affected by the storms. Our priority, as always, is to make sure that we are here to support local efforts to keep residents and communities safe. FEMA has teams on the ground in hard hit areas and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources if needed by the states," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "We urge residents in impacted areas to listen carefully to instructions from their local officials. If asked to remain in shelters, homes or safe places or to avoid affected areas, please do so. Roads may be damaged or blocked by debris, and traffic jams can slow emergency managers and first responders in doing their job."
At the requests of the states, FEMA and the Small Business Administration have deployed teams to Missouri and Illinois to assist with preliminary damage assessments. These assessments identify the damages in impacted counties and to help the governor determine if additional federal support will be requested. A FEMA disability integration specialist was part of the preliminary damage assessment team in Missouri to assess the needs of people with disabilities and access and functional needs who were displaced from their independent living center.
FEMA has also proactively deployed a federal coordinating officer to Indiana, who is serving as a liaison to the Indiana Emergency Operations Center to provide support to the state and to assist in coordination efforts as the state continues to respond to the recent storms. Incident Management Assistance Team and eleven community relations teams have also been proactively deployed to Indiana to assist with situational awareness following the storms in support of the state and governor, as requested.
At all times, FEMA maintains commodities, including millions of liters of water, millions of meals and hundreds of thousands of blankets, strategically located at distribution centers throughout the United States and its territories. To support the affected states, FEMA has coordinated with the Department of Defense to establish a national Incident Support Base in Kentucky to stage commodities in strategic locations close to the impacted areas, if needed and requested by the state. More than 98,000 meals and 146,000 liters of water are en route to the Incident Support Base.
Many local governments and voluntary agencies, such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, are providing shelter to disaster survivors who have been displaced from the storms. During these times, the compassion and generosity of the American people is never more evident than after a disaster. If you would like to help residents suffering the effects of recent Midwest storms, cash donations are best. They go right to the areas of need and bring relief faster. For more information on how you can help, visit www.fema.gov/donations.
According the National Weather Service, there is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms across the eastern Gulf Coast into the coastal Carolinas. The main threat will be heavy rains across much of the Southeast today.
FEMA encourages everyone to take steps to ensure their family, homes and businesses are prepared for a possible emergency. Important items to have ready in case of an emergency include a battery-powered radio (like a NOAA Weather Radio), flashlight, extra batteries, medicines, non-perishable food, hand-operated can opener, utility knife and first aid supplies. Important documents, such as medical records, contracts, property deeds, leases, banking records, insurance records and birth certificates, should be copied and kept in a safe place. Visit www.Ready.gov for more information on preparing yourself and your family for emergencies.
Check out http://www.fema.gov/ for more resources.
WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the entire federal family, is continuing to closely monitor conditions following severe storms that affected much of the Midwest and Southern states this week.
FEMA, through our regional offices in Kansas City, Mo., Chicago, Ill. and Atlanta, Ga., is in close contact with state emergency officials in states that are being affected by severe weather, including tornadoes. FEMA's National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., and its Regional Response Coordination Center in Chicago, Ill. are fully activated to support state requests for assistance.
FEMA's regional administrators have been in touch with state emergency management officials for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones and those whose lives have been affected by the storms. Our priority, as always, is to make sure that we are here to support local efforts to keep residents and communities safe. FEMA has teams on the ground in hard hit areas and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources if needed by the states," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "We urge residents in impacted areas to listen carefully to instructions from their local officials. If asked to remain in shelters, homes or safe places or to avoid affected areas, please do so. Roads may be damaged or blocked by debris, and traffic jams can slow emergency managers and first responders in doing their job."
At the requests of the states, FEMA and the Small Business Administration have deployed teams to Missouri and Illinois to assist with preliminary damage assessments. These assessments identify the damages in impacted counties and to help the governor determine if additional federal support will be requested. A FEMA disability integration specialist was part of the preliminary damage assessment team in Missouri to assess the needs of people with disabilities and access and functional needs who were displaced from their independent living center.
FEMA has also proactively deployed a federal coordinating officer to Indiana, who is serving as a liaison to the Indiana Emergency Operations Center to provide support to the state and to assist in coordination efforts as the state continues to respond to the recent storms. Incident Management Assistance Team and eleven community relations teams have also been proactively deployed to Indiana to assist with situational awareness following the storms in support of the state and governor, as requested.
At all times, FEMA maintains commodities, including millions of liters of water, millions of meals and hundreds of thousands of blankets, strategically located at distribution centers throughout the United States and its territories. To support the affected states, FEMA has coordinated with the Department of Defense to establish a national Incident Support Base in Kentucky to stage commodities in strategic locations close to the impacted areas, if needed and requested by the state. More than 98,000 meals and 146,000 liters of water are en route to the Incident Support Base.
Many local governments and voluntary agencies, such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, are providing shelter to disaster survivors who have been displaced from the storms. During these times, the compassion and generosity of the American people is never more evident than after a disaster. If you would like to help residents suffering the effects of recent Midwest storms, cash donations are best. They go right to the areas of need and bring relief faster. For more information on how you can help, visit www.fema.gov/donations.
According the National Weather Service, there is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms across the eastern Gulf Coast into the coastal Carolinas. The main threat will be heavy rains across much of the Southeast today.
FEMA encourages everyone to take steps to ensure their family, homes and businesses are prepared for a possible emergency. Important items to have ready in case of an emergency include a battery-powered radio (like a NOAA Weather Radio), flashlight, extra batteries, medicines, non-perishable food, hand-operated can opener, utility knife and first aid supplies. Important documents, such as medical records, contracts, property deeds, leases, banking records, insurance records and birth certificates, should be copied and kept in a safe place. Visit www.Ready.gov for more information on preparing yourself and your family for emergencies.
Check out http://www.fema.gov/ for more resources.
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