As a baby, Luke Stuhleys speech was delayed. When he started talking, he mostly repeated what others said. Just before he turned 2, he stopped making eye contact.
A few months later came the diagnosis: autism.
It was devastating, said Kate Whelan, Lukes mother. I was pretty lost. You get the diagnosis and youre just left to flail.
Whelan, of McFarland, eventually found other patents with autistic children who pointed her to treatments and programs. Now shes co-coordinator of the Wisconsin chapter of Talk About Curing Autism, or TACA, a national group that helps families affected by autism.
TACA is holding a conference in Madison Friday and Saturday on topics ranging from experimental tests for autism to preparing older children with the condition to live on their own.
There are things you can do as parents, said Lisa Ackerman, who founded TACA in 2000 after feeling that some groups were too negative in their approach. There are positive steps you can take.
The cause of autism, a developmental disability that alters social interaction and communication, largely remains a mystery. It could involve a combination of genetic, biologic and environmental factors, scientists say.
A federal survey of parents released in March found 1 in 50 school-aged children has an autism spectrum disorder, which includes autism and milder forms such as Asperger syndrome.
Thats up from an estimate of 1 in 88 last year and 1 in 110 a few years ago. Those figures were based on studies of medical and school records.
Doctors likely have been diagnosing autism spectrum disorders more frequently in recent years, especially in children with milder conditions, health officials say.
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Autism parents group holding conference in Madison