MMR, Autism and Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of Education released its 28th annual report to Congress. It revealed, as usual, a sustained increase in autism and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in the United States. (1, 2) In the school year 2004-2005, there were 25,902 children with autism aged three to five, enrolled in preschool programs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — and 166,302 students aged six to 21. Between 1991, the first year autism was listed separately, and the present, the total number of children serviced under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) increased 3,449 percent — from 5,415 to 192,204.

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