Autism Continues to Skyrocket

Autism Rate Now at One Percent of All US Children?

David KirbyAuthor/Journalist

Posted: August 11, 2009 01:35 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-rate-now-at-one-pe_b_256141.html

First the bad news...

At some point in their lives, 1-in-63 US children (160-per-10,000) will have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. (if you are a boy, that number is 1-in-38).

The good news...

Out of every 160 children diagnosed with ASD, 60 of them (37.5%) will recover. (hmmm... does diet play a role?)

And the funny news...

Of course there is the camp of people who say that there is no increase in autism, and that "we' are just better at diagnosing it". According to this logic, out of every 140 children who had an ASD in the 1980s, 138 of them went (and continue to go) undiagnosed, uncounted and untreated by medical and educational professionals. Are we really 7,000% better at diagnosing autism?

Click on the link below to read the full article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-rate-now-at-one-pe_b_256141.html

Lack of Vitamin D in Children 'Shocking'

Lack of Vitamin D in Children 'Shocking'
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 03 August 2009 08:58 am ET

http://www.livescience.com/health/090803-vitamin-d-children.html
About 70 percent of U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, which puts them at higher risk for bone and heart disease, researchers said today.

"We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking," said Dr. Juhi Kumar of Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center.

Cases of rickets, a bone disease in infants caused by low vitamin D levels, have also been increasing, other research shows.

The cause? Poor diet and lack of sunshine, the researchers conclude today in the online version of the journal Pediatrics.

"It would good for them to turn off the TV and send their kids outside," Melamed said. "Just 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough. And unless they burn easily, don't put sunscreen on them until they've been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage."

Full story:

http://www.livescience.com/health/090803-vitamin-d-children.html

My Comment:

Our family takes cod liver oil every day, since getting enough Vitamin D from the sun in Michigan is a losing battle. We also get our Vitamin D levels tested to make sure we are in the optimal range.

Take the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test and make sure your blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.