1 in 67!!. not 150

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Subject: 1 in 67!!. not 150

  ( http://www.vaprojec t.org/warner/ CDC-Says- 1-in-150- --Nonsense.

htm )

   

  The CDC Says 1 in 150 Children Have Autism; We Say NO! Nonsense!

   

  By

  Warner

   

   

  The time has come for everyone to stop referencing the Center for

Disease Control (CDC) statistic which states that 1 in every 150

children has an autism spectrum disorder.  Did we really ever believe

the numbers the CDC presented to the world?  Do we rarely believe

anything that comes out of the collective mouth of the CDC?  If the CDC

wanted to tell the truth, they wouldn’t have had to look far to get to

that truth.

  For far too long it has been we the parents and our national autism

organizations who have uncovered and spoken the truth.  We are speaking

the truth again, and the CDC needs to be confronted.

  In early October of 2007, Dr. Yazbak and Ray Gallup of the

Vaccine Autoimmune Project (VAP) released a report titled “When 1 in

150 is Really 1 in 67”.  This report which puts the autism prevalence

at 1 in every 67 children is based on Department of Education

statistics.  Keep in mind that Dr. Yazbak and Ray’s report only

includes children who qualify for special education services through

the autism eligibility category.  This excludes potentially thousands

of children, including my own.  If your child has a diagnosis of autism

spectrum disorder, but qualifies for special education through an Other

Health Impaired or Developmental Delay category; your child is not

accounted for in the 1 in every 67 children report.  Our schools can

not keep track of all of our children.

  A few days ago a fellow military advocate mom sent me a document that

was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  The

information in the FOIA document confirms Dr. Yazbak and Ray’s report.

  The statistics contained in this FOIA document cover a 24 month period

of tracking.  They only include those children or adults who were seen

during this time period by medical personnel who used one of the many

diagnosis codes pertaining to ASD.  Plain English; if the child or

adult was not seen for something relating to their ASD by a provider

who accepted Tricare during that time period, they are not included in

the stats.  Again, this excludes potentially thousands of children due

to the limited tracking time.  And again, all of our children can not

be kept track of; this time by the military and Tricare.

  The document obtained explains that there are a total of 22,356 people

with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder service wide (includes

all branches of service); the vast majority are children of active duty

or retired active duty dependents with ASD.  The vast majority comprise

a total of 22,027 military dependent children with autism.  Of the

22,027 military dependent children with autism, 13,243 are children of

active duty members.

  According to a 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) publication (click on

the download feature to view) there are 1,177,190 military dependent

children service wide (page 49).  This is what the numbers show:

  1,177,190 (children service wide) /13243 (active duty (AD) dependent

children with autism service wide) = 1 in 88

  Due to the limitations of the tracking I think it’s safe to say that a

heck of a lot of children were missed.

  According to the FOIA document there are 8,784 dependent children with

autism of retired military members.  Information on the total number of

dependent children of retired members has been hard to come by.  Again,

no one is keeping track, or so it seems.

  So let’s play with some numbers, shall we?

  According to the above mentioned 2005 DoD report (page 36), there were

52,270 members that retired between 2000 and 2005.  According to the

DoD report, the average number of children in an active duty family is

two.  Let’s cover the last 20 years of members retiring, and come up

with a guesstimate of how many military dependent children of retired

members there are.  If there are roughly 52,270 members retiring in

every five year period we have a total of 209,080 retired military

members.  If each of those retired members has on average, two children

(refer to DoD report page 47), we would have roughly 418,160 military

dependent children of retired military members.

  418,160 (military dependent children of retired members) / 8,784

(military dependent children with autism of retired members) = 1 in 47

  Now granted folks, we’re working with the second part of this equation

which is a guesstimate number…

  88 (active) + 47 (retired) = 135/2=67

  WHAT! you say?

  Yes, you are reading correctly.  1 in 67 military dependent children

with autism.

  “When 1 in 150 is Really 1 in 67”, in our schools.

  “When 1 in 150 is Really 1 in 67”, in the United States Armed Forces.

  It is time to start sounding the alarm bells, and every warning system

we have.  The autism tsunami has made landfall.  It is time to confront

the CDC.  It is time to take this new information to our Congressional

leaders.  They need to be educated and be given a grave warning as to

the financial ramifications in store for this country if our children

don’t receive treatment, and agencies such as the CDC, NIH, IOM, FDA,

and AAP continue to refuse to address the autism epidemic with complete

transparency.

  The time has come.  Our children with autism need treatment, help and

support.  Our families need help and support.

  The time has come for strong, swift, and deliberate action on the part

of our government to provide every single child with autism the health

insurance coverage necessary to recover our children with autism.  Yes,

they do recover.

  The time has come for true leaders to step up to the plate.  I

challenge you to do just that right now.  Step up to the plate.

  The time has come.  There is no more 1 in 150. There are 1 in 67

children with autism in this country, and the rate of children with

autism increases every year.

  “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

  Margaret MeadThe time has come.