1 In Every 150

Last week I watched an episode of Oprah that I recorded several months ago but hadn't watched yet. Since watching it, I have not been able to stop thinking about it. It is very disturbing to me. It was about autism. The organization "Autism Speaks" has made a new film called "Autism Every Day". At the time that the made the film they said the statistics were that 1 in every 166 children are diagnosed with autism. Since making the film the number has increased to 1 in every 150 and children. That is staggering. Here is some info. I got from their website about autism:

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

I knew autism was a growing problem, but I had no idea that that many people are diagnosed with it. I also thought that it was something a person was born with. But there was a lady on the show who said that her child was growing and functioning normally and then one day (I believe her child was maybe 2 years old) her child was just gone. She was physically there but that was all. She wasn't there anymore. She was then diagnosed with autism. I can't imagine what that would be like. She says everyday she looks for just a little bit of what her child used to be. She hasn't found it yet.

On the show they said doctors don't know what causes autism. They believe that it may be hereditary and that people are born with something in their DNA that causes autism. They think that there is some trigger that makes the autism manifest itself. Some people believe that it might be childhood immunizations that trigger it. They just don't know. I know that that really freaks me out. Since I have a little baby who I am taking in on a regular basis to get immunized.

Anyway it made me think. It made me think about the world we live in today. About all the stuff we take into our body or put on our body that we really don't know much about. That is something that I have been concerned with for several years now but this has just brought it ever more to the forefront of my mind. I am the kind of person that hates taking Tylenol unless I really really need it. I get really annoyed when I go to the doctor and I feel like they just don't really listen to me and try and find out what the real problem I am having is.

(I am about to say really bad stuff about doctors in general but I don't believe all doctors are like this. I just haven't personally found one who isn't. But I still think doctors are basically a good thing to have around.)

Sometimes I have been in a doctors office and I have really wanted to ask, "So how much of a kickback do you get from the pharmaceutical company for writing out this prescription for me?" I just have never been brave enough to actually say it out loud. I went to the doctor a few years ago for a problem I was having. She really didn't even talk to me for long or ask me any questions. She just scribbled out a prescription for something, told me that "this might be your problem and if it is this will help. Take it for a while and if it fixes it then that's what your problem is. If not then come back and we will try something else." I think my jaw dropped open so far it hit the ground. I was thinking "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?" I wanted to ask to see her medical diploma and see what kind of quack school she graduated from but again, not brave enough. Anyway, I took that prescription right home and ripped it up and threw it away. And about a year after that happened, that drug she prescribed for me was recalled and a whole slew of commercials came out featuring lawyers saying if anyone has taken this medicine they can call them and get in on a lawsuit. I was pretty glad I trusted my own judgement and not the doctors on that one. Really, I very seldom fill prescriptions I get from doctors for myself and my children. Like I said, sometimes I think there must be some reason as to why they fill the need to write out so many unnecessary prescriptions. Here have one of these, just for fun. Oh and here, why don't I give you this one too. I just need to practice my illegible handwriting a little more.

Anyway I could go on and on forever and ever, but I won't. I just feel that there are so many things out there that could be harmful to our health and we are exposed to them everyday. Just look at all the diseases that are on the rise. Is it the environment that we create that could be a cause? I don't know. But maybe we should be a little more careful and a little more thoughtful about the things we bring into our home or put into our body everyday.

Anyway, here is a link to the film that Autism Speaks has created. I am not clever enough to figure out how to put the actual video on my blog. There is a 1 minute and 37 second theatrical trailer you can watch or you can watch the whole film.