SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald They laugh, they smile, they cry
and cause trouble. Autistic children are like their peers in
many respects but different in others. And for reasons no one
completely understands, their numbers are growing. The
prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has been steadily rising
in recent decades and most recently was estimated at one in
every 88 children nationwide, according to a study by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published last year.
In Colorado, the rate is even higher: one in every 85 children,
according to the study. The study also found the disorder is
five times more common in boys then in girls. What causes autism
and why the prevalence is climbing are two of the unanswered
questions surrounding the disorder. “We can’t say for sure that
there is not something in particular that is causing the number
of children with autism to go up, but there is increased
awareness about the disorder,” Lisa Miller, disease control and
environmental epidemiology division d