|
As many as 1 in 175 primary school
children in Great Britain may suffer from autism, 11 times higher
than previous estimates.
Previous studies have estimated that five in every 10,000 children
aged between five and 11 were autistic, but a new study, of children
in Cambridgeshire, puts the rate at 58 in 10,000. Extrapolated across
Britain, this suggests that 30,000 primary school children and tens
of thousands in other age groups may have clinical autism.
Significantly, the study established that
one in eight children with special education needs was suffering
from some form of "autistic spectrum disorder".
Autism is a very contentious issue in medicine and education and
the study was undertaken to establish basic figures for the number
of primary school age children with the condition. It affects
boys three times more frequently than
girls, although it is not known why, and there is much debate
among doctors on how the condition should be defined.
The National Autistic Society describes autism as a "lifelong
development disability that affects the way a person communicates
and relates to people around them".
This includes "difficulty making sense of the world",
"repetitive behaviour" and "resistance to change
in routine". The most affected "classically" autistic
children also have severe learning difficulties and low IQ.
The report put the cost of autism at nearly 5 million dollars over
a lifetime for a severely affected autistic child with learning
difficulties, nearly 2 million dollars for people with "high
functioning" autism.
Telegraph
February 18, 2001
| 