A recent state report showing that the number of cases of autism in California has doubled in the past four years lets parents know they are not alone but offers little comfort.

Researchers can't explain the spike in autism, a disorder that affects brain functions, especially social interaction and communication. In 1998, roughly 10,000 people in California received state services for autism, and by 2002, the number had grown to 20,377.

Released in May, the report by the Department of Developmental Services states that the increase is not just because of "improved identification and diagnosis" and notes that there has been no corresponding increase in other developmental disorders.

What are parents to do? In the Internet age, they turn to the computer -- scanning Web sites for information on the disorder, contacting support groups where they live and seeking social services to help with special needs.

Pediatricians and school officials are often unaware of the symptoms and ignore traits of autism or attribute them to a behavioral phase that a child will grow out of, according to members of parents' support groups, people who work with the developmentally disabled and several Web sites about autism.

Traits are not limited to but can include an insistence on repeating words or phrases; laughing or crying when the reason is not obvious; making little or no eye contact with others; or being oversensitive or insensitive to pain.

Those diagnosed early and given intensive special education are better able to fit into regular classrooms and, later, to function independently as adults,

rather than having to be institutionalized. Others may require special care for decades, a concern to state officials looking at the cost of providing services to the developmentally disabled.

Researchers are looking at whether genetics and medical problems contribute to autism. Others suspect that environmental chemicals -- thimerosal in particular, a form of mercury that was used as a preservative in childhood vaccines -- may have played a role.

The idea is that vaccines with thimerosal, administered in quick succession over a brief period of time, could create a buildup of mercury that could damage a child's nervous system. The matter is wending its way through the courts.

To date, no studies have conclusively shown that thimerosal causes autism or developmental disabilities. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999 issued a joint statement with the U.S. Public Health Service warning that vaccines containing thimerosal should be eliminated as soon as possible.

In San Mateo, Parca -- a 51-year-old support group for parents with children who have developmental disabilities -- offers activities for families with autistic children. It also hosts open meetings called "jam sessions" where parents can meet others going through similar problems and unload their fears, learn strategies for coping and get emotional support.

At first, parents may have suspicions about a child's development but usually put them aside, said Sue Digre, the group's director of family services. When the child is diagnosed with autism, it's traumatic for the parents, she said.

"It's not something you know the moment the child is born and have a chromosome test that can prove it, as happens with Down syndrome," she said. "By the time the parents come to grips with it, they have to face that their child has a severe disability and they've lost a lot of time."

The Autism Society of America's Web site lists, but does not endorse, a variety of treatments available.

They include behavioral approaches, such as rewards for performing tasks; describing pain with words, not screams; and helping children learn how to better process sound and touch.

Diet can be modified with the addition of B vitamin supplements or other medications. Autistic children can suffer from gastrointestinal inflammation, which prevents the absorption of natural vitamins. They also are said to be unable to digest dairy products and gluten, which can disrupt brain function.

Some physicians have found antidepressants to be useful in inhibiting repetitive, obsessive-compulsive or depressive behaviors, and art and music or animal therapy (riding horses, swimming with dolphins) can stimulate the senses and aid in development of speech and comprehension, according to the Web site.

Published reports state that those who believe that thimerosal has caused autism are having their children treated with chelation, a process that is supposed to help remove heavy metals from the body.

Other parents are working to find medical treatments for the disorder. Cure Autism Now, a national group with a California-Bay Area chapter and a mailing list of 2,000 people, raises money and gives grants to researchers.

It created a gene bank -- known as the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange -- which contains blood samples from 400 families that include more than one person with autism, pervasive developmental disorder or Asperger's syndrome. Researchers are able to obtain genetic material for research for little or no cost on the condition that they share their findings, said Connie Bertrand, membership chairwoman for the local chapter.

Bertrand studied autism in college years ago and became involved with Cure Autism Now because she has a nephew with autism. She had expected that public awareness about autism would increase in the intervening decades, but an e- mail from a woman in Salinas showed her that there is more work to do.

"She was asking me to send her information about autism, and I did, and her e-mail back said, 'It's just so nice to know somebody is there,' " Bertrand recalled. "People are just so alone."
 

Help for parents of autistic children

Helpful contacts for parents seeking information on autism:

Autism Society of America, Washington, D.C., founded in 1965 by parents of autistic children. Call: (800) 328-8476 or go to www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer.

San Francisco Bay Area Autism Society, Belmont, (650) 637-7772 or go to sfautismsociety.virtualave.net/support%20groups.htm. Online is a listing of support groups throughout the Bay Area, including a group for Japanese families. Some Spanish translation and child care services offered.

Parents Helping Parents in Santa Clara County. Resources for a range of disabilities. (408) 727-5775 or go to www.php.com.

Cure Autism Now, a leading fund-raising and support group whose proceeds go to research on autism, with chapters in California, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey. Go to www.canfoundation.org. The California-Bay Area chapter can be reached at (415) 646-0496 or www.cureautismnow.org.

Friends of Children with Special Needs in Fremont, for children and adult speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese; provides after-school programs and play groups for kids. Call (510) 573-3232.

Parca, a private, nonprofit organization for people with developmental disabilities and their families. Contact Sue Digre at (650) 312-0730 Ext. 111, or go to www.parca.org, or e-mail sued@parca.org. Parca will have an open meeting for parents of children with autism at 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Peninsula Community Foundation, 1700 S. El Camino Real, Suite 300, San Mateo. .

-- Carolyne Zinko