And this year I had a blue extension placed in my hair. Julia saw it and wants one too! Maybe for the walk in June.
All week you may have heard announcements about new autism numbers being released. Below I have a link to a video on CNN and one of the many articles released this week announcing these new statistics. In summary, instead of 1 in 110 kids diagnosed with autism, the numbers are 1 in 88. Autism is now being considered an epidemic because the drastic increase in reported cases during the past decade. The study included data taken from 14 different states. New York was not included in the study but New Jersey was. Wait until you hear the statistics for New Jersey, which I can only imagine is a close match to New York!!! And all of these statistics are based on data compiled from a study in 2008. What will they be for 2012?
CNN video
A must see!
Article
If you don't have time to read the full article, I've cut and paste a couple of statements directly from the article:
An earlier report based on 2002 findings estimated that about 1 in 150 children that age had autism or a related disorder such as Asperger's. After seeing 2006 data, the figure was revised to about 1 in 110. The estimate released Thursday, based on 2008 data, is 1 in 88.
The study also found that autism disorders were almost five times more common in boys. And that an increasingly large proportion of children with autism have IQs of 85 or higher - a finding that contradicts a past assumption that most autistic kids had IQs of 70 or lower.
Also, higher autism rates were found in some places than others. For example in Utah, as many as 1 in 47 of the 8-year-olds had an autism spectrum disorder. In New Jersey, 1 in 49 did.
There are many opinions out there as to why these numbers have increased so drastically. Lately I've been reading articles about the link between the drug Terbutaline and Autism. From what I understand, Terbutaline, which is used to control asthma, is also used to delay premature labor. More and more studies out there are showing that it is not safe for children exposed to this drug during gestation. Some women are given the medication orally or put on a pump. When I was pregnant with Ryan, I landed in the birthing center at 30.5 weeks. I was hooked up to the monitors and contractions were coming less than four minutes apart. Within minutes the doctor was notified and a decision was made to give me a Terbutaline injection to stop the preterm labor. It worked and I carried Ryan to full term. But at what cost???
Article upon article states the side effects of this drug for women and their unborn babies. Some children have genetic factors that make them more vulnerable to the affects of Terbutaline, and in turn, the Terbutaline makes the baby's brain more vulnerable to toxins. In fact, I've heard there are federal warnings against giving this drug as a way to stop preterm labor. If you want to read more about this, simply google "terbutaline and autism". You can find all sorts of articles about studies performed, and also links to numerous blogs and comments to those blogs about real stories from women who were given terbutiline, and gave birth to a baby who was later diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
It's not something that can be changed, so I'm not sure why I'm so obsessed with finding an answer to the question, "Why?" But this can't all be for nothing. With Ryan I was a naive, trusting, uninformed, and scared first-time parent. I don't think they even asked me; I was just told this is what needed to be done. Scared that he would be born too early with complications, we let them do whatever needed to be done. If I were to go into preterm labor with this new child, what would I do? Would I agree to an injection of Terbutaline? I now know I would think twice and ask what other options are available!
Changing gears, I want to share with you our experience at Ryan's Open House this week.
All day he was excited with anticipation to take of us to his classroom and give us a tour of the building. On the way to his classroom he stopped at the speech classroom to introduce us to his speech therapist. He was happy to show us his work hanging on the wall and his seat at his new table. He immediately ran up to and hugged his teacher aide when she arrived. After his classroom Ryan walked us to the library, where he gave us the rules that we weren't allowed to touch any of the books during Open House night, just when they visit during Kindergarten class. Next he took us to the gym. He was most excited about showing us this area. We walked around the perimeter and there were posters hung along the wall that the students in the building drew related to healthy habits. When we arrived at the section of Kindergarten posters, Phil immediately identified Ryan's. His half circle for a head stick figure stood out! For those that have been to our house, and have seen Ryan's drawings hanging around, you know exactly what I'm talking about! Maybe you even noticed it in the picture of the Open House invitation above, or in the tooth fairy dream picture I posted last week. Here are the pictures we took in the gym:
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| Some of the posters hanging on the wall. Can you pick out Ryan's? |
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| There's his signature stick figure jumping rope! |
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