NORFOLK, Va. — Autism is a disorder most of us are certainly aware of and its prevalence is becoming more and more profound.
Jen Lewis met with local experts to learn why the number of people being diagnosed with autism has drastically increased and how it impacts families.
Dr. John Harrington is a pediatrician with Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters who has been practicing for 30 years. He shares a special connection with his patients and their families because his son is autistic.
He says getting a proper diagnosis as early as possible is important.
"Most of the screening things we do are somewhere between 16 and 30 months," said Dr. Harrington. "Generally at that time, language is coming in for most children. So when it’s not coming in and there are odd behaviors and things that you’re sort of not sure about, that’s when you’re bringing those concerns to your pediatrician."
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is thought to have strong genetic components but is not affected by race, region or socio-economic status. Boys have, historically, been diagnosed four times more often than girls, but those numbers are changing.
“Females are now much more likely to be diagnosed because of some things that we’ve noticed in terms of their masking abilities of their autism,” said Dr. Harrington.
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He went on to share that girls often manifest symptoms of autism differently. They can be quiet and reserved to cover, consciously or unconsciously, and they can have trouble with socialization. These behaviors can delay diagnosis for girls.
Dr. Harrington says the increase in the number of people living with autism is staggering.
“When I first started being worried about autism, my son was about 3 years old. But at that time, in the year 2000 or so, it was about 1 in 166 kids that had autism," he said. "We currently have the data that says 1 in 36 kids have it.”
That is a five-fold increase.
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Why is this happening?
Jen took that question to Sharon Russell. She’s the mother of an autistic son and President of the Board of Directors for the Autism Society of Tidewater.
“We see that more and more people are being diagnosed at an older age, adults," she told Jen. "We see parents when their children are being diagnosed are like, 'Hey, you know what? That sounds familiar.' I also think the criteria has changed a little and there’s more awareness.”
More of us are aware. That’s one of the reasons the designation for this month was changed from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month.
“I think we are really moving into that world of, you know, we just accept you for who you are and what talents you have and the abilities you have," shared Dr. Harrington.
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That is the focus of the Autism Society of Tidewater. They have been connecting, supporting and empowering the autism community in our area for 44 years.
“We provide resources," Russell told Jen. "We have a resource directory throughout the community, we have parent education. Often, we have parents newly diagnosed. They’re referred to us [and] we help those parents navigate that journey.”
The Autism Society of Tidewater makes it easy for families working through a difficult time to get what’s needed.
Jen also spoke with Whitney King. She is the Autism Society of Tidewater Chapter Affiliate Manager and mom to a 10-year-old son with autism.
“I am really proud that the Autism Society of Tidewater removes that barrier for families, and they have one place that they can come to and just receive the streamline of information to help them get the resource they need,” she said.
One of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Autism Society of Tidewater is right around the corner. Their Superheroes vs. Villains 5k is April 28 at the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail in Chesapeake. To register and to learn more about their organization, visit here.
