Cal State SB Palm Desert Touts Autism Spectrum Disorders Research Lecture

"Controversies and Trends in Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders" are the subject of a lecture in February at Cal State University San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus, a school spokesman announced Tuesday.

The free lecture will be presented by the university's Institute for Child Development and Family Relations and Danelle Hodge at 5 p.m. Thursday Feb. 28 in Oliphant Auditorium.

Topics to be addressed include:

• Why are rates of autism skyrocketing?
• Are immunizations causing autism?
• Why is the American Psychiatric Association changing diagnostic criteria for autism?

"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) describes a group of complex brain disorders that includes autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified and Asperger’s syndrome," an event announcement states.

"These disorders share in common, to varying degrees, deficits in social functioning, communication impairments and the presence of repetitive behaviors."

One in 88 American children is somewhere on the autism spectrum, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This represents a ten-fold increase in prevalence of ASD over the past 40 years, according to Cal State. ASD affects more than 2 million individuals in the U.S. and it is more common than juvenile diabetes, AIDS and cancer combined.

Hodge is associate director of research at Cal State San Bernardino's University Center for Developmental Disabilities, the coordinator for community outreach at the Institute for Child Development and Family Relations, and an adjunct faculty member at CSUSB, Singer said.

The presentation is co-sponsored by the University Center for Developmental Disabilities, the CSUSB College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Health Assessment Resource Center, Singer said.

The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is located at 37500 Cook St.

For more information, visit the CSUSB Institute for Child Development and Family Relations website at http://icdfr.csusb.edu, call (909) 537-3679 or e-mail icdfr@csusb.edu.

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