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Walkers raise money to help find a cure for autism

Monday, June 10, 2002

By CAROL SMITH
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

With autism rates on the rise in Washington state and around the country, more than 2,000 people joined forces yesterday at Marymoor Park in Redmond to raise money to find a cause and a cure.

The first walkathon sponsored by the National Alliance for Autism Research brought families together for a 3.5-mile walk alongside the Sammamish River.

	Five-year-old Anna Strigenz gets a ride from her father, Andrew Strigenz, of Clyde Hill during yesterday's walkathon sponsored by the National Alliance for Autism Research. Organizers hoped to raise about $400,000 with the 3.5-mile walk alongside the Sammamish River. Jeff Larsen / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

"Things are so much better than they were a few years ago. There's so much more support for families," said Wendie Rosenberg, mother of Evan, who is autistic but doing well in sixth grade after intensive one-on-one therapy for many years.

"There are still battles to fight, but we're so much more optimistic," she said.

Evan, who just turned 13, wants to work for Boeing someday because of his passion for airplanes.

Autism is a brain disorder that can profoundly impair a child's ability to communicate and socialize. The disorder causes a spectrum of disabilities, ranging from mild to severe.

Experts estimate that autism affects about 500,000 people in the United States, making it the third-most common developmental disability after mental retardation and cystic fibrosis.

Organizers hoped to raise about $400,000 during yesterday's event.

This year, the alliance committed $4 million in research grants, including $1 million to finance post-doctoral positions to try to attract more scientists to autism research.

"There's a critical need to get more scientists into the field," said Glenn Tringali, chief operating officer for the alliance, who attended yesterday's walk.

"No one knows yet what the cause is," said Barri Rind, mother of a 9-year-old son with autism and co-chairwoman of the event. "But the numbers are rising."

Estimates vary, but researchers now believe about 1 in 500 children will be diagnosed with autism, compared with 1 in 10,000 a decade ago. In California, children are being diagnosed at a rate of about 8 a day, Rind said.

"What will it mean in 10 years?" she said. "What will we do then? It's urgent for us to fund research now so future generations can be spared."

Researchers believe there is a genetic predisposition to autism that may be triggered by some environmental factor.

The national alliance, , a non-profit founded in 1994 by parents of children with autism, is financing research to examine whether the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine may be a factor in the disorder.

The alliance, which is also financing research into the underlying genetics, immunology and neurology of the disorder, distributes the money to peer-reviewed research projects on a competitive basis, said the alliance's Tringali.

Linda Bressler, mother of two children with autism, could bring only one of her sons to the event because the other can't tolerate large crowds without having a severe anxiety reaction.

"That's why we need more research," she told hundreds of clapping parents, many of whom wore buttons and T-shirts with pictures of their children on them.

Youngsters, some with name tags and "return to" phone numbers on their backs in case they wandered off, played with clowns and had their faces painted as the walkers prepared to set out.

"It may be too late for my children, but you've got to think about the future," said Bressler, whose sons Kevin and Max are each affected differently by autism.

Her older son doesn't talk; the younger is more social. Both need intensive special supervision in the home.

"I don't think most people really understand what these families go through on a daily basis," said Amy Dedrickson, one of several friends of the Bresslers who volunteered at the event to support the families.

Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, who has a 10-year-old grandson with autism, also came to support the families.

"I'm astounded at the turnout," said Gorton, who worked to increase financing for autism research during his last term. "It's really the families' enthusiasm that is making this happen."

P-I reporter Carol Smith can be reached at 206-448-8070 or carolsmith@seattlepi.com

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