Fwd: Autism no longer off radar

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Fyi Autism no longer off radar http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1037524.html Last 24 Hours Perdue breaks patterns, one way or another forgiven in Kansas State faces lawsuit over mental health N & O sues Easley over records law Soaring fuel costs ground small planes Last 7 Days Perdue breaks patterns, one way or another Chew on this! Teacher

faces sex charges Voter registration soars in N.C. Rivalry begins on lake Barry Saunders, Staff Writer Laxton doesn't recall knowing a single autistic soul when he grew up in Lenoir in the 1970s and 1980s. When he finally met someone -- a suite mate at UNC-Chapel Hill -- who may have been "on the autism spectrum," as he termed it, he didn't realize it until years later. Not only would the college student sit and rock incessantly, Laxton said, but "he was unable to prioritize. If he had a class at 5 o'clock, he'd leave the dorm at 5 o'clock."

The suite mate also had only two topics of interest: religion and Pink Floyd. "He might not speak to you ... but if you talked about Pink Floyd, he'd talk for an hour. ... He was from a small town, and no one had ever diagnosed him," Laxton said. Laxton knows a lot more about the developmental disability now. He is communications director of the Autism Society of North Carolina, and his mission is to make everyone aware of the affliction. "When I first started here, it was hard to even get the word autism into the newspaper. Now, there's something on it almost every day," he said. That's especially true in April, which is National Autism Awareness Month. A statewide conference is scheduled for April 25 and 26 in High Point. Laxton said early detection is important, but people can be helped years later as well. "We had a former Autism Society board

member who was diagnosed in his 40s, after he took his son in for a diagnosis," he said. "To him, it was a real blessing because he had wondered why he always struggled with relationships and couldn't keep a job." I asked whether the increase in the number of autism cases -- the total number of students in the state's public schools has nearly tripled since 1999 -- was a result of something in the water or better diagnoses. "It's a little bit of both," he said. "I don't know if there's literally 'something in the water,' but some people feel there's something in the environment that's led to the increase. There's a lot more awareness of autism, and more people know what signs to look for. "There's a lot of research, particularly at UNC and Duke, trying to determine if genetics plays a part" in autism, he said. Some of the earliest known autism research, he said, began at UNC in the 1960s "when Dr. Schopler

proved that children didn't 'get' autism from the way they were raised. "One doctor claimed that kids became that way because their mothers were cold to them -- they were called 'refrigerator mothers' -- but Schopler proved there is a biological basis" for autism, Laxton said. The region's reputation as ground zero in autism research persists, with many families relocating to the Triangle for that reason, Laxton said. While pumping gas last week, he said, he met a couple one pump over who'd moved to Durham from the Northeast to help out with their autistic granddaughter. He also said the state's Autism Society has the nation's oldest summer camp for autistic children -- even though, he emphasized, it benefits more than autistic children. "That's the one week out of the year when parents can catch a break," he said. "Mom and dad get to know each other again without worrying about who's going to

watch" the child. For more information, go to the Autism Society's Web site at www.autismsociety-nc.org. barry.saundersnewsobserver or (919) 836-2811 . Deborah Brock - group owner Autism Society of America Online Autism

Facilitator Decatur County Autism Support Contact Helping Families Connect to Resources deborah3brock@...

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