It beats out Down Syndrome, child deafness and even child cancer. No one seems to know why more and more children are being diagnosed autistic, but some think it might have to do with how high-tech their parents are.

Tori Boes is autistic. It took more than four years for her to speak her first words.

"Red, dog, sink." As quickly as she's shown a flash card, 9-year-old Tori responds.

Today her mother, June Boes is doing what she does typically three or four hours every day with Tori -- practicing communication. This lesson uses flashcards with words and corresponding pictures.

"What color is a bear?" asks Tori's mom. "Brown Bear," answers Tori.

"Which one smells pretty?" June asks. "F-f-f-flower," said Tori.

She has trouble with her 'F's' , so she says it again to make sure she's understood.

"(Autism) is a development disability that affects your ability to socially interact with people and also your ability to communicate not just through spoken language but through non verbal communications," said Dr. Geraldine Dawson, Director of the Autism Center at the University of Washington.

Autism traps children in their own world. Tori has trouble reading body language, she doesn't know when someone's sad or angry.

Dr. Dawson says that with therapy called Applied Behavioral Analysis -- or ABA -- the socially withdrawn Toris of the world are breaking free.

ABA is typically three years of intense one-on-one therapy for up to 40 hours a week.

'She Was Trapped Before The Therapy'

"The research has shown that early intervention is very effective for many children," said Dawson.

In a small room with kid-size table and chairs, therapist Jamie McPartland, a grad student and certified ABA therapist at the University of Washington, is loaded with toys. They're things that might interest Tori and, at the same time, reinforce eye contact.

The challenge is to teach Tori to interact and read facial cues.

"The ABA is a great thing -- it unlocks your child from the trap they're in," said Gene Boes, Tori's dad. "She was trapped in a world of autism until the therapy."

Before the therapy five years ago, Tori wasn't able to communicate at all. Now, although her vocabulary is limited, she is able to tell her parents what she's thinking and, more importantly, what she needs.

"She has been able to express herself in a way she never was before," said her father.

Microsoft Offers Unique Coverage

But, ABA is expensive. On average, three years of therapy costs about $75,000.

For some families it can be financially impossible.

Unless you work for Microsoft.

"We had some employees come forward and identify a need for us," said Mike Cochran, Microsoft's Benefit Manager. "And based on that need, we took a very close look at this disease and felt it made sense to offer this as a benefit."

About 15 employees asked for coverage in 1998 and were determined to get it. It took time, but in January of 2001, Microsoft offered ABA coverage to all employees.

"The therapy has significant long-term benefits based on research," Cochran said. "When you look at providing the benefit for the longer term it makes a lot of sense financially."

Gene is a group product manager at Microsoft. He figures the coverage saves him $25,000 a year.

"The most important thing it's given me is my family," he said. "We didn't have a family life...or the potential considering the working situation before we had coverage. Both Gene and June worked 40 hours plus overtime every week to cover Tori's health needs.

'Geek Syndrome'?

The software giant says it started coverage simply because it cares about employees. But, last year, Wired magazine reported on something it labeled "Geek Syndrome" - a controversial, and still unproven suggestion that autism may be in a person's genes.

The theory: that couples who have trouble adjusting socially, but who are gifted in math and high tech, pass the potential for autism on to their children.

"I really think there is not much science behind that -- I think it's more of an observation that someone has made." said Dr. Dawson.

Cochran agrees.

"We took a long hard look at the incident rate here at Microsoft and compared that with what's happening across the country and we're not seeing any higher incidence here at Microsoft," he said.

The idea behind Geek Syndrome comes from the Silicon Valley. In 1993, California reportedly had fewer than 5,000 autism cases. Now, on average, seven new cases are diagnosed everyday -- most of them children.

"We honestly don't know the answer to why the numbers are increasing," said Dr. Dawson.

But what Gene and June Boes know is the therapy is working. It has given Tori a way to break through her silence. Five weeks into ABA and her first words were 'mommy' and 'daddy.'

"It unlocked her!" said Gene Boes.

Microsoft says it hopes other companies will follow its lead and offer employees coverage for ABA therapy. The concept was so new, Microsoft had to rely on the University of Washington Autism Center to help determine qualifications for coverage and certified therapist.

For More Information:

Cure Autism Now Foundation -- www.cureautismnow.org
Autism Society of America -- www.autism-society.org
Families For Early Autism Treatment -- www.feat.org
 

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