I have an autistic son, Alec. He is the joy of my life, but it took a long time to find joy again once Alec was diagnosed. But this much I know: God has a special and unique purpose for autistic children no less than that of any other child!
FACTS ABOUT AUTISM (from www.autismspeaks.org):
- 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
- 1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
- 67 children are diagnosed per day
- A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
- More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
- Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
- Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
- Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
- Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
- There is no medical detection or cure for autism
Incidence vs. Private Funding
- Leukemia: Affects 1 in 25,000 / Funding: $310 million
- Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 20,000 / Funding: $175 million
- Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 8,000 / Funding: $394 million
- Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $130 million
- Autism: Affects 1 in 150 / Funding: $15 million
National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation
- Total 2005 NIH budget: $29 billion
- Of this, only $100 million goes towards autism research. This represents 0.3% of total NIH funding.
Current News Stories:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/24/autism.vaccines/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/31/autism.main/index.html
Autism Informational Resources:
http://www.autism.com/ (Defeat Autism Now!)
http://www.autismspeaks.org
http://www.autism-society.org Sphere: Related Content
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1 comment:
Hello Kelly,
I have come over to your site through Lysa T.'s site. Wow, this is a very difficult thing you are going to walk through with your son. How wonderful that God has given you faith and peace in the midst of this storm.
Have you found that food choices helps at all? Do you have a support system to help you with this?
I am a mother of 6, one is adopted from Russia, and I love the Lord! It was nice meeting you today.
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