17-04-2025
Peoria professional speaks about rise in autism cases, shift to acceptance over awareness
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Autism cases are rising nationally, and this includes in central Illinois.
But the rise, according to a clinical supervisior at Easterseals Central Illinois's Peoria location, is due to the improvements made to the detection process.
'I do think that there is a rise in autism,' said Nichole Ruddell, applied behavior analysis clinical supervisor. 'However, I also think that we are getting a lot better at detecting signs of autism. There's a lot of other things that go into it that used to very clearly not be part of the diagnostic criteria, but now they are.'
This comes after the CDC reported cases of Autism went up for children eight-years-old from 2020 to 2022, with one in 31 eight-year-olds from 16 states having a diagnosis.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy called autism an 'epidemic' with CBS News reporting a push back to this name writing, 'experts and advocacy groups have criticized [the description] as stigmatizing and misleading.'
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says US autism cases are climbing at an 'alarming rate'
April is National Autism Acceptance Month, which includes recognizing other people's experiences and leading with an identity first approach.
'There's a shift right now from autism awareness to autism acceptance, and not only understanding what autism is and how it affects different people,' Ruddell said, 'but also being accepting and inclusive.'
Ruddell's occupation, ABA, allows kids and/or clients space to express themselves and learn new skills.
To read more about Easterseals and their practice, click here.
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