AUTISM CASELOAD DOUBLES IN FOUR YEARS

AUTISM CASELOAD DOUBLES IN FOUR YEARS

(Original Message from Mutton, Nick- Email [email protected] )

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2003 Contact: Nick Mutton (202) 225-2276

REP. BURTON USES FINDINGS OF NEW CALIFORNIA AUTISM REPORT TO RENEW HIS CALL TO PRESIDENT BUSH TO CONVENE FIRST-EVER WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON AUTISM

CALIFORNIA'S AUTISM CASELOAD DOUBLES IN FOUR YEARS:

STATE NOW ADDING 11 NEW CASES A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK

Washington, D.C. - According to the newly released report by the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS), entitled "Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Changes in the California Caseload: 1999-2002," California's autism population has nearly doubled in four years, from 10,360 cases on December 31, 1998, to 20,377 cases as of December 31, 2002. This astounding growth rate represents a 97 percent increase in just four years, and a nearly 100 percent increase in the state's caseload since 1999.

"The findings of this report are truly sobering," stated Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-5), Chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness. "Furthermore, they support my contention that there needs to be a nationwide effort to determine why autism has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. On November 21, 2002, I wrote to President Bush urging him to convene the first-ever White House Conference on autism. I continue to believe that we need this type of National forum, whereby the best minds from across the country could be brought together to chart a course of scientific research to uncover the underlying causes of this epidemic. Right now, such research is not being aggressively pursued."

Once a rare disorder appearing in as few as 1 in 10,000 births, autism is now the number one disability entering California's Developmental Services system. In fact, autism is now more prevalent than childhood cancer, diabetes and Down's syndrome, and within 3 to 4 years will surpass, in total number of cases, both cerebral palsy and epilepsy in the California Developmental Services system.

In April 1999, DDS released its first report to document the rapid and unexplained rise in the incidence of autism. That autism report, entitled "Changes in the Population of Persons with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders in California's Developmental Services System," presented findings of a staggering 273% increase in autism from 1987-1998. The 1999 DDS report has led to numerous subsequent epidemiological studies on autism throughout the United States, as well as the global health community.

The 2003 DDS report notes between 1987 and 2002 the average age of persons with autism entering the California system has shifted toward much younger children. By the end of 2002, when the autism population totaled 20,377 persons, the greatest concentration of individuals, approximately 4,282, were children in the 5 to 9 year-old age range. This translates to 70 percent of all persons with autism in the California Developmental services system being under 15 years of age, compared to 35 percent in 1987. The long-range implication of this sustained increase in the number of young persons with autism is a profound and enduring impact on the amount of entitlement services required for each individual, which is directly linked to state public services, state budgetary concerns and the overall health status of California citizens.

Continued Burton, "The numbers do not lie. The rate of growth in the population of persons with autism in California is commensurate with reported increases in other states, such as Georgia, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Whether people choose to accept it or not, we have an epidemic on our hands. If these trends continue at a constant rate, the number of autistic cases could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade."

Congressman Burton, along with a growing number of scientists, medical researchers and parents, believe there is a direct correlation between autism and the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, which has long been used in childhood vaccines. In order to accommodate the financial needs of the vaccine-injured, Chairman Burton introduced the "National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Improvement Act of 2003," on March 19, 2003. The bill, H.R. 1349, seeks to amend the current Vaccine Injury Compensation Program by extending the statute of limitations, increasing the base amount of funding available to those injured, and providing for a critical two-year "look back" provision for families who previously missed filing deadlines.

"The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established back in 1988 to be a non-adversarial, 'family-friendly' alternative to civil litigation," concluded Burton. "Fifteen years later, the reality is that there are some serious problems with the program. I have re-introduced legislation this year, specifically, to address the fairness and accessibility issues that vaccine-injured families are facing."

For more information on Chairman Burton's legislative and investigative efforts on autism, please visit his website at www.house.gov/burton. A copy of the California Department of Developmental Services report, entitled "Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Changes in the California Caseload: 1999-2002," is available at www.dds.ca.gov/autism (please note Adobe Acrobat is required for the successful download of this document).