Understanding autism

• Published: Nov 18, 2009 - Page: 1D

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The little boy, an autistic child living in a northern state, would have a “meltdown” every time he tried to put on his winter gear at school to go outside.

It turns out he was putting on his mittens first — which made it hard for him to get on his jacket and boots, Ohio speech and language pathologist Denise Sawan Caruso told parents recently at a presentation on autism.

“Understand the antecedents of the behavior,” Caruso said.

Caruso’s presentation on Nov. 7 was the first in a new Baton Rouge Autism Speaker Series. Other events will be held in February and April 2010.

“In 2005, there was an unmet need,” said Julie Dickinson, president-elect of the Junior League of Baton Rouge, one of the organizers of the series.

“We were hearing lots on television about autism and autism spectrum disorders,” but there wasn’t a lot of information locally, Dickinson told the audience at St. James Episcopal Church.

Autism, a complex developmental disability that typically appears in the first two years of life, is a growing concern.

It is the most common of what are called pervasive developmental disorders and affects approximately 1.5 million Americans today, according to the national Autism Society.

And the prevalence is rising. The society reports that autism is increasing at a “startling rate” of 10 percent to 17 percent per year.

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 99 people have autism, Caruso said.

Is the increase due to better recognition of the disability? Or expanded diagnostic criteria? Or could it be due to environmental toxicity, as a study done on pollution in Mexico City seems to indicate.

“We don’t know definitely,” Caruso said, discussing the possible explanations.

But what Caruso had come to Baton Rouge for in early November was to give parents of autistic children some practical, real-life ways they can help their children.