MUSCATINE, Iowa - In Iowa, there were 67 students ages 6-21 diagnosed with autism in the 1992-93 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. By 1999-2000, that number increased to 543, a 710 percent increase.

And that trend is prevalent in the rest of the nation: 5,000 autistic students in 1991-92 and about 97,847 in 2001-02.

The reason autism cases have increased dramatically is not yet clear. Environmental factors such as diet or exposure to certain chemicals are being researched as possible reasons.

But many experts, such as those at the Boston University School of Medicine, say autism is being verified more often because experts in the fields of education and psychology are becoming better at diagnosing it.

Jan Collinson, director of special programs for the Muscatine Community School District, said she doesn't know how many students in the District are autistic because the range of symptoms makes the syndrome difficult to diagnose.

"We don't go by labels," said Collinson. "We deal with specific symptoms."

But, Collinson confirmed she sees more students than ever before who display autistic characteristics.

Advice for parents

She advises area parents to contact the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency 9 as soon as they see signs of any learning disability in their child so they begin accessing services for their preschool students at this crucial age.

David Quinn, Director of Special Education for the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, said the agency has a specific autism resource team that provides support services to schools and includes early childhood education.

When children enter grade school, the District continues to provide services.

"We try to keep students with autism in the general education population as much as possible," said Collinson.

Tammy Ales, a special education teacher at Grant Elementary, said teachers in the District are learning more about making the classroom environment more welcoming for students with autism.

Researchers have learned the receptors in the brains of persons with autism don't connect the way they do in non autistic people. This can cause a realm of differences in the way people with autism smell, see, feel, hear and respond.

Ales, who attended the National Autism Conference last week, said researchers have learned people with autism often relate to music.

Music therapy

The Muscatine School District contracts with a music professional who delivers music therapy for autistic students once a week, Ales said.

Sometimes teachers can modify things that cause too much stimulation for students with autism. Ales said some students tell her they are bothered by the underlying, constant hum and bright cast of fluorescent lights.

Although some people with autism do not speak and have degrees of mental retardation, many more are gifted in certain areas and are articulate with large vocabularies.

"People with autism are fun," said Ales. "They can be the best friends you could ever have if you accept them for who they are."

Contact Cynthia Beaudette at: 563-263-2331 Ext. 323 orcynthia.beaudette@muscatinejournal.com

To learn more about services for preschool and school age children with learning disabilities contact:

Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency 9

1422 Houser Street

Muscatine 52761

Phone: (563) 263-8476

Recognizing autism

The Autism Society of America lists these characteristics of autism (The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe; although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity):

* Insistence on sameness; resistance to change

* Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words

* Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language

* Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others

* Prefers to be alone; aloof manner

* Tantrums

* Difficulty in mixing with others

* May not want to cuddle or be cuddled

* Little or no eye contact

* Unresponsive to normal teaching methods

* Sustained odd play

* Spins objects

* Inappropriate attachments to objects

* Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain

* No real fears of danger 

* Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity

* Uneven gross/fine motor skills

* Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range.