July 28, 2018, Las Vegas Review Journal: 2 new psychologists to provide autism diagnosis in Las Vegas https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/health/2-new-psychologists-to-provide-autism-diagnosis-in-las-vegas/ (SEE VIDEO) Though waiting lists for autism-related services top the thousands across the Las Vegas Valley, two new practitioners aim to put a dent in those numbers. Clinical neuropsychologists Erin Honke and Caitlin Cook will provide diagnostic services for families needing initial and follow-up evaluations for their autistic children at, respectively, Touro University Nevada’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities and UNLV’s Ackerman Autism Center. Both say they look forward to being a part of the solution to long wait times for families desperate for early intervention. … “It’s also crazy to see how many families have gone without and are waiting to be seen, and that’s certainly something I’m excited to be a part of.” Like Honke, Cook is waiting for insurance company approval, though she’s gotten the OK from Medicaid, which allows her to see publicly insured children. To have two experts new to the Las Vegas area is “only a positive” for children waiting for diagnosis valleywide, said Terri Janison, CEO of the Grant a Gift Autism Foundation. There are 3,200 children waiting for help from the UNLV Ackerman Autism Center alone. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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