Autism ~ Odds Still Skyrocketing

Two years ago, odds were 1 in 150 that newborns would become victims of autism. One year ago, the odds were 1 in 110. Today, those odds have risen to 1 in 91!

If lottery odds were 1 in 91, lines to buy tickets would be miles long!! ..most people would feel certain that, with odds like that, they would all be winners!

Yet society continues playing Russian roulette with the lives of our future children.. believing those high odds surely won't apply to their child. Or, idealistically, they believe that our glorified experts and government will recognize the need to step in and provide help.

Well.. folks, your government has not, and will not provide American autistic children any help. If you are planning a family.. be prepared for the 1 in 91 likelihood that your child will be the next autism statistic, and that you and your child will receive absolutely no help whatsoever.

I began this hub two years ago when I realized interest in this topic would continue growing as numbers of afflicted children continued to climb.

Even then the math was very simple, and VERY terrifying! Since then, the mountain of information about autism has grown nearly as fast as the odds of autism affliction! Still, we have been provided no valid answers, and still, most so-called 'expert' opinions come from those who are clueless about actually living with an autistic child.

Today thousands upon thousands of parents and families of these children continue to be turned away in confusion, frustration, financial distress, and grief after trying to digest the gobbledygook offered them by those so-called experts.

Few, if any experts experience the lives of these families. They do not suffer the daily.. NO, often hourly, and even moment to moment upheaval that is the reality of autism in the household. Though lives in these households vary just like any other, routine, (though desperately needed by autistic children), is usually non-existent.

Very fortunate and more affluent families may be able to secure assistance with these children, but most families aren't that fortunate, and receive little if any assistance whatsoever. They are left to solely cope & deal with the physical, emotional, mental, financial, and educational strains caused by autism. Huge numbers of these children and their families are slipping through societies' cracks of resignation and indolence, if due to nothing more than their staggering numbers.

Experts and non-experts alike agree that there are degrees, or levels of autism, varying from very mild to extreme severity. If not before, then by school age, autistic children are usually evaluated by yet another set of experts, and are categorized according to their expert opinions.

Most children whose autism reach the highest levels of severity will rarely, if ever achieve the ability to care for themselves or receive educations. Those children and their families may or may not receive some form of public assistance, as in all likelihood these children will eventually be declared 100% disabled.

Most mild cases, that is children diagnosed at lower levels of autism, are usually ignored by professionals and educational systems, but usually, somehow make their way through public educational systems, and go on to live a fairly normal, if somewhat sub-standard adult lives.

However, due to the staggering numbers of autistic children today, (especially in urban areas), most children categorized somewhere in the middle of the severity charts are falling between the cracks due to modern day hypocrisy and an unsympathetic & unforgiving society.

We are told that stress can be debilitating both mentally and physically to even the healthiest people.. For autistic children though, coping with even the mildest forms of stress is a daily moment to moment uphill struggle. In fact they are usually unable to cope with even the slightest stress without extreme negative physical and emotional distress. Change of routine and even weather, basic disciplinary measures, even minor teasing, concern about errors, clothing, lunch, recess, anything, can trigger negative behaviour ranging from mere moping and crying, to yelling, threatening, wetting or dirtying their underwear, to actual physical violence enacted upon others or even themselves. Yet, when these outbursts occur, too many of these children (and/or their families) are actually held accountable for the result of actions they have absolutely no control over.

There are no special schools for most autistic children in these levels, and most are pushed through various special-ed classes offered at public schools. Most schools are totally unprepared, unable, and untrained to deal with autistic children, and usually label them troubled, unmanageable, and even violent. Many request, or even demand that these children be drugged, (they call it sedation), in order to avoid classroom disruption.

With help and guidance, just like other children, those whose levels are low, may actually experience relatively normal lives, even in to adulthood. A few may even excel in certain areas.

With a whole lot of luck, perhaps some help from something or someone higher than us, and real expertise from our so-called experts, some of the children who fall into those middle to upper levels of autism, may grow to adulthood with little mishap.. Most, however, will not live normal lives, that is, not to the standards that you and I would consider normal ..and sadly, along the way, many will fall victim to the result of their own uncontrollable behavior patterns.

Our society is likely destined to reap irreparable scars due to our inability(?) / refusal(?) to demand attention to this devastating attack on humanity...