Tom Fudge: It's hard to know how many newborn Americans will be diagnosed with autism. But it's clear that rates have increased dramatically. In past decades, one in several thousand kids were diagnosed with autism. Now, it's about one in a couple hundred.
The maddening thing about this mental disorder is that we still don't know what causes it. There are plenty of theories, some of which have passionate believers. But so far it seems that extensive research cannot explain why modern rates of autism are so much higher. Most research and attention has focused on kids with autism. But we've reached the point where many autistic kids have become adults. Is there treatment for them, and are they able to hold jobs?
Registration for USD's Autism Institute Summer Autism Conference, People Not Packages: Dynamic Approaches to Personalizing Supports for People with Autism , has closed.
Guests
- Dr. Anne Donnellan, director of the Autism Institute and professor in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at USD.
- Martha Leary, speech and language pathologist who has worked with people with autism for more than 30 years.
