http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/parenting/04/20/autism.funding.ap/index.html

Congressman: More money needed for autism

April 20, 2002 Posted: 2:01 PM EDT (1801 GMT)
 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Research funding for autism lags behind other diseases even as the number of children diagnosed with the condition is increasing, a congressman complained this week.

"Funding into basic and clinical research into autism needs to grow," said Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. Burton's grandson, Christopher, is autistic.

"We have an epidemic on our hands and we in Congress need to make sure the NIH (National Institutes of Health) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) treat this condition like an epidemic," Burton said.

Autism is a neuro-biological disorder that typically appears during the first three years of life. Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication and social interactions. The disorder makes it hard to communicate with others and relate to the outside world, and in some cases, those with autism can exhibit aggressive behavior.

There is no known cure.

Officials don't know the exact prevalence of autism but estimate that it affects anywhere from one in 500 to one in 1,000 people in the United States, according to a February report to Congress by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Ten years ago, autism was thought to affect one in 10,000 individuals in the United States.

Burton said the CDC is spending $11.3 million on autism this year and $10.2 million next year. Meanwhile, the agency will spend $932 million on AIDS this year and over $62 million on diabetes.

Similarly, the National Institutes of Health, which has a $27 billion budget this year, is spending $56 million on autism and $2.2 billion on AIDS research. Another $688 million is being used for diabetes research.

Stephen Foote, a director at the National Institute of Mental Health, said NIH funding for autism had grown from $22 million in 1997. "NIH has made substantial progress . . . in further expanding and intensifying our autism research activities," he said.

Still, The Autism Society of America wants NIH research funding to increase to $500 million a year.

The organization estimates that the disorder is increasing at a rate of 10 percent to 17 percent a year, "faster than any other disability or disease," said Lee Grossman, the society's president.

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