This announcement comes from California autism
advocate Rick Rollens.

According to information released today by the
California Department of Developmental Services
(www.dds.ca.gov), the number of new cases of professionally
diagnosed full syndrome DSM IV autism entering California’s
developmental services system declined from 734 new cases
during the second quarter of 2005 (April through June) to
678 new cases during the just completed third quarter of
2005 (July through September), a 7 1/2% decline in one
quarter.

During the first three quarters of 2003 California
added 2449 new cases, last year in 2004, California added
2267 new cases of autism, and most recently, during the
first three quarters of this year, 2005, there have been
2148 new cases added to the system.

The recent continuing decline of new cases of autism
is occurring against the backdrop of over two decades of
record setting consecutive years of new cases of autism
entering California’s 36 year old system.

Even with the declining numbers, autism as a
category, the other categories being mental retardation,
cerebral palsy, and epilepsy, now comprises 66% of all new
intakes, or 2 out of every 3 persons now entering
California’s system has been professionally diagnosed with
full syndrome, DSM IV autism, easily making autism the
number one disability entering California’s developmental
services system.

It is important to note, that in California’s
developmental services system, children under the age of 3
years old are NOT counted in DDS’s quarterly reports. Also,
only those persons with professionally diagnosed full
syndrome autism, not including PDD, NOS, Asperger’s, or any
other autism spectrum disorder, are included in these
reports.

The latest quarterly report confirms the trend of
decreasing number of new cases entering California’s
developmental services system.