From Press Release
The Autism Epidemic in the USA-Our Bitter Harvest and National Shame
There is a myth out in the public that autism is not increasing but it is due to better diagnosis. Parents and Educators know otherwise and can cite their own schools as examples. In our son's school in New Jersey, there were 20 children with autism attending the school in 1992. Today, in 2002, there are over 100 children and 80% of them are younger than our son.
The following is taken from the statistics produced by the Department of Education in the United States, for numbers of children aged 6-21 served by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) who have autism. (Go to http://www.ideadata.org/tables24th/ar_aa3.htm for 2000-2001 figures.)
State 1992-1993 2000-2001 % Increase
Alabama 68 765
1,025
Alaska 8 195 (almost infinite)
Arizona 199 1,119 462
Arkansas 30 671 2,137
California 1,605 10,557 558
Colorado 14 453 (almost infinite)
Connecticut 164 1,225 647
Delaware 15 263 1,653
District
of Columbia
0 103 (infinite)
Florida 582 3,926 575
Georgia 262 1,916
631
Hawaii 52 276
431
Idaho 39 291 646
Illinois 5 3,103
(almost infinite)
Indiana 273 2,621 860
Iowa 67 537 701
Kansas 74 619 736
Kentucky 38 864 2,174
Louisiana 409 1,145 180
Maine 37 444 1,100
Maryland 28
1,933 (almost infinite)
Massachusetts 493 575 17
Michigan 288 4,075 1,315
Minnesota 296 2,448 727
Mississippi 0 385 (infinite)
Missouri 336 1,589 373
Montana 20 163 715
Nebraska 4 337 (almost infinite)
Nevada 5 394 (almost infinite)
New
Hampshire 0 342 (infinite)
New
Jersey 446
2,925 559
New
Mexico 16 225 1,305
New
York 1,648 5,943 260
North
Carolina 786 2,374 202
North
Dakota 9 118 (almost infinite)
Ohio 22 2,217 (almost infinite)
Oklahoma 31 666 2,048
Oregon 37 2,516 2,516
Pennsylvania 346 3,304 855
Puerto
Rico 266 473 78
Rhode
Island 19 309 1,526
South
Carolina 141 852 504
South
Dakota 36 227 531
Tennessee 304 935 208
Texas 1,444 6,023 317
Utah 105 584 456
Vermont 6 160 (almost infinite)
Virginia 539 1,983 268
Washington 476 1,620 240
West
Virginia 101 312 209
Wisconsin 18 1,823 (almost
infinite)
Wyoming 15 94 527
50
States, DC & PR overall
increase % Increase
TOTAL 12,222 78,717 544
Total Total
1992/1993 1999/2000 % Increase
12,222 65,396 435
Total Total
1992/1993
1998/1999
% Increase
12,222 53,561 339
Total Total
1992/1993 1997/1998 % Increase
12,222 42,487
248
Total Total
1992/1993 1996/1997
% Increase
12,222 34,354 181
Total Total
1992/1993 1995/1996 % Increase
12,222 28,813 136
Note: Total reflects 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
(Source: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act data, US Department of Education. Note: Where increases are from a very low base figure, these have been expressed as "almost infinite". For every two cases there were in the latest 2000-2001 figures represent a single-year increase of 20% over 1999-2000).
To date, Dr. Andrew Wakefield has found measles in the gut and Dr. Vijendra Singh and Dr. James Oleske has noted elevated measles titers in children with autism. In a 2000 Washington DC vaccine/autism Congressional hearing initiated by Congressman Dan Burton, Dr. Vijendra Singh said that he would welcome other researchers replicating his science. Unfortunately, there are lots of denials by government health officials with opinion reports and no clinical science research.
We see from independent research that there are certain immunological/gastrointestinal abnormalities involved with our children. At the same time, there is no NIH, CDC and FDA funding of this independent research to help our children and prevent further cases of regressive autism. This is shameful neglect on the part of these government health officials who are supposed to look after the welfare of our children, Instead of denials and opinion reports that there is no connection we need good independent clinincal science.
The USA is a free and democratic Republic and recognizes that its children are its most important assets. The tragedy is that we are losing children daily to this bitter harvest called autism. Normal children are regressing into autism because of an immune insult. This can be prevented by funding the research that is necessary and looking at immune-therapy treatments that will help those children already affected. To do otherwise brings national shame on our country.
Raymond
Gallup, President
Autism
Autoimmunity Project
45
Iroquois Avenue
Lake
Hiawatha, NJ 07034
Tel
973 299-9162