A comprehensive lecture series for the community begins Aug. 29 at Sonoma State University to provide support and insight into what appears to be a dramatic increase in the prevelance of autism among young children.
The Collaborative Autism Training and Support Program is offering a Tuesday seminar series from 10-11:30 a.m. in the SSU Student Union multi-purpose room. Admission is $5 and there is a $2.50 parking fee.
The lecture series runs from Aug. 29 through Nov. 29 and covers autism's impact on families, early intervention strategies, ways to support children's developing abilities, supporting autistic adults in the community, an overview of autism theories and intervention, and careers in the autism field.
For a complete description of each lecture visit http://www.sonoma.edu/psychology/autism.
This program is funded by the California Department of Developmental Services through a collaborative grant to North Bay Regional Center and Sonoma State University.
Catford reports that 30% of the special ed preschoolers in Sonoma County are now on the autism spectrum. This percentage has gone up from 24% a couple of years ago. Among older students, ages six and up, 17% of the June count of pupils in special day classes were on the autism spectrum, which ranges from severe autism up to more functional children and those with Asperger's syndrome.
The unprecedented increase in autism in California is real and cannot be explained away by artificial factors, such as misclassification and criteria changes, according to the results of a recent large statewide epidemiological study made by the M.I.N.D. Institute recently.
"Speculation about the increase in autism in California has led some to try to explain it away as a statistical issue or with other factors that artificially inflated the numbers," said UC Davis pediatric epidemiologist Robert S. Byrd, who is the principal investigator on the study.
"Instead, we found that autism is on the rise in the state and we still do not know why. The results of this study are, without a doubt, sobering."
Rick Rollens of the M.I.N.D. institute up at Davis reports that the number of professionally diagnosed children with full symptom autism now exceeds 30.000 in California. Ten years ago there were just under 2,800.
In the period between January 4 and April 4, 2006, the California State Department of Developmental Services reported that 757 new children were added to the support services system of regional centers that provide services for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
SSU is also offering a service-learning course, also made possible by the Wellness Grant to North Bay Regional Center from the California State Department of Developmental Services. Students will learn to work with children diagnosed on the autism spectrum through a combination of lectures, discussion, reflection, and field work.
The goal is for students to understand the etiology, implications and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in the context of home, school, and the community. Topics include history and research on autism, impact on the family, assessment and intervention procedures, collaborative program planning, and how to implement effective interventions.
For more information, contact: Dr. Lorna Catford, Sonoma State University, (707) 664-2402, or Richard Ruge, North Bay Regional Center, (707) 569-2017.
