In Clark County, in Washington and across the nation, a mysterious, disabling, lifelong neurological disorder with no known cause and no known cure is approaching epidemic proportions among young children.

    It's autism.

    And schools, social service institutions and society as a whole are unprepared to deal with it.

    Children with autism can't communicate normally or relate to other people. Most will need help to accomplish the most basic tasks in life. The cost in lost human potential will be immeasurable. All of us will pay the cost in dollars.

    At Vancouver's McLoughlin Middle School, Jake Rehm knows five students besides himself with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, in the sixth grade alone.

    The official tally of children with autism in the Vancouver School District quadrupled from 16 to 63 between 1997 and 2001. Evergreen's numbers doubled from 32 to 63 between 1998 and this past January. The Camas School District had 11 children with autism 14 months ago; now it has 30.

    Clark County's numbers increased from four to 135 between 1994 and 2000 and continue to climb. During that same period, the number of children diagnosed as autistic in Washington increased 17-fold, from 99 to 1,685.

    In Oregon public schools, the 2,650 children with autism served last year outnumbered the 1,229 children who were blind, deaf, or visually or hearing impaired by more than two to one.

    Nationwide, as many as 550,000 Americans are believed to have some form of autism. Only a few years ago, the disorder was believed to afflict one in 5,000. Now health officials estimate one in 500 people have symptoms that fall within the "autism spectrum."

    No one knows why this is happening. Most experts say better diagnosis is part of the answer. It's clear that a predisposition to autism is inherited, but that doesn't explain the recent spike.

    Some parents of children who began showing symptoms of autism after they received immunizations for childhood diseases believe the mercury preservative in the vaccines helped cause their children's autism. In nine states, including Washington and Oregon, parents have filed class action lawsuits against drug companies that manufactured the mercury-laced vaccines in the 1990s.

    Other parents believe the vaccines may have led to biochemical changes that contributed to their children's autism. No conclusive research supports these theories.

    What is clear is that schools, social service agencies and communities are unequipped to deal with the surge of children who are autistic and with their complicated and expensive needs. Most parents find that in trying to get appropriate programs for their children, they are on their own.

    That has resulted in striking inequities ---- among states, among school districts, even within communities and individual schools.

    Most teachers get no special training in how to deal with the educational needs or behavior problems of autistic children. Until three years ago, Washington had no statewide program to assist local school districts in working with these children.

    Underfunded social service agencies struggle to provide services to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Washington pays about 1,800 families an annual allowance of $1,300 for respite care and other services, but 6,000 more families are on a waiting list for funding. Oregon also has a waiting list, though developmentally disabled children in Oregon receive far more.

    In 1999, the Arc of Washington, an advocacy group for the disabled, sued the state of Washington in federal court, demanding that children with developmental disabilities not be required to wait years for Medicaid-funded services. A settlement has been reached, but the legislature has yet to figure out how to pay the state's share of the cost ---- an estimated $14 million in 2003 and $24 million annually after that.

    Once people with autism reach the age of 21, the need for services becomes acute.

    Aging parents often cannot care for their adult children. Residential institutions are emptying, and community-based group homes are scarce. The Autism Society of America has called the absence of residential options and services for autistic adults a national crisis.

    "The most critical issue is woefully inadequate funding," the association said in issuing a call to action last July. "We cannot allow another generation of our adult children to go without the vital services that any humane society knows is necessary for a life of dignity and worth."

    Thirteen families in Clark and Skamania counties who faced that prospect for their own autistic children went to the legislature and won a pilot program that helps them make the transition from school to adult life. But it is unlikely to be extended to all who could benefit.

    In Clark County and across the nation, parents of children with autism are taking matters into their own hands. They are networking, doing research on the Internet, lobbying lawmakers, filing lawsuits and educating themselves about effective therapies in an effort to give their children the best chance possible.

    Some families are involved in tense negotiations with their school districts over what constitutes the "free, appropriate public education" their children are guaranteed under federal law. Some worked with Educational Service District 112 to form a cadre of parents and educators that is teaching teachers what they need to know.

    With the increased prevalence of autism has come an increase in funding for research into its causes and a flowering of new therapies that may help people with autism live more meaningful lives. But most of the answers are still years away.

    In the meantime, these children, and the families who love them, struggle to find their place in the world.

    See also: Parents fight to win control

    AUTISM SERIES

    * TODAY: Parents struggle to help their children, but inequities result.

    * MONDAY: Schools have little training and few resources to deal with a wave of autistic children.

    * TUESDAY: Residential options narrow for autistic adults.

    * WEDNESDAY: Some blame mercury-laced vaccine for high number of cases.

    * THURSDAY: Research holds some hope for future generations.

    AUTISM 101

    Many questions, few answers

    Autism is a severe, lifelong neurological disorder that affects the way the brain processes information and impairs a child's ability to communicate, form relationships and develop normally.

    Identified in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner of Johns Hopkins Medical Center, until the 1960s it was widely believed to be an emotional disorder caused by bad parenting.

    Autism occurs in all racial, ethnic and social groups. Boys are three to four times as likely as girls to be autistic, though autism in girls tends to be more severe. The first symptoms occur as early as 12 months of age, when some babies resist human touch. Most children are diagnosed at between 18 and 30 months of age.

    Researchers have identified several related disorders within the "autism spectrum," with symptoms ranging from mild to severe.

    Many people with autism have multiple handicaps. Seizure disorders and severe gastrointestinal problems are typical. About 75 percent also are mentally retarded. People with autism typically avoid eye contact and have difficulty relating to what others are thinking or feeling. They may erupt in temper tantrums or engage in obsessive, repetitive behaviors. Most need constant supervision to get through life.

    About 15 percent of people in the autism spectrum, including those diagnosed with a condition called Asperger's syndrome, have normal or near-normal intelligence and are able to function almost normally in society. A small number are savants who possess extraordinary memories or special abilities.

    Virtually all people with autism have problems processing information from their senses, especially sounds, smells and touch. Sensory overload can make it impossible for them to concentrate. On the positive side, people with autism tend to have an excellent memory for detail, an ability to follow routines, an appreciation for precision and accuracy, and strong visual skills. As they get older, their symptoms may lessen, but they will never outgrow autism. There is no cure.

    For unknown reasons, the incidence of autism spectrum disorders in young children has risen sharply in the past 10 years.

    Before 1990, it was widely accepted that autism affected about one in 5,000 people. In 1997, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the incidence of autism had climbed to one in 500. The newest estimates from the United States and Britain range as high as one in 150.