A new ABC legal drama, Eli Stone,"" which made its debut this January, featured a mother who, believing that a dangerous preservative in a vaccine caused her son's autism, sues a pharmaceutical company. ""America's Next Top Model"" shook up stereotypes when Heather, a knockout with Asberger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, entered the competition. An indie flick set to release this March, titled ""The Black Balloon,"" focuses on an adolescent who finds his life complicated by his autistic brother.
While the topic of autism has only recently become a popular topic for television and in the movies, off-screen the disorder is quickly becoming one of the most controversial issues in both the medical and local communities.
However, a common cause of autism has yet to be found, and as more theories continue to emerge, most of the general public still remains in the dark on the subject, without the resources or the knowledge to help treat or identify it.
Glenis Benson, Ph.D, a Madison educational psychologist in private practice, defined autism as not a single disorder but as a ""spectrum disorder,"" with cases ranging from mild to severe.
""Autism spectrum disorders are both social and communicative,"" Benson said, as the disorders affect the ability to communicate and interact with others.
With the entire spectrum, autism is the second most commonly diagnosed serious developmental disability in children after mental retardation, according to a MSNBC report in June 2007.
Statistics from the same report show that one in 166 children born today will be diagnosed with an autistic disorder, a shocking growth from 1970, where only one case per 10,000 was diagnosed.
Researchers are left to question whether this dramatic increase is due to environmental factors or simply a higher rate of diagnoses.
""The evidence to date suggests that right now, the increase that we see is due to diagnosis and awareness and not due to any real increase in the number of actual cases of autism,"" said Leonard Abbeduto, professor of educational psychology at UW-Madison and researcher at the Waisman Center.
Benson argued that the expanding criteria for classifying autism could also be contributing to the rising number of diagnoses, although not all cases diagnosed are necessarily severe.
""Asberger's is thought to contribute probably 50 percent of those currently diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder,"" Benson said.
Asberger syndrome is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, according to Benson, as it does not delay speech, allowing for a high level of functioning despite depressed communication and social skills.
However, many parents remain convinced that the rising number of children being diagnosed is a result of varying environmental factors - the most controversial being vaccines.
Vaccines contain the preservative thimerosal, which contains mercury and is thought by some to cause the onset of autism in children. According to Abbeduto, no evidence has been provided to document vaccines as a definite cause of autism, despite several studies done in the United States and other countries.
""When their child is diagnosed, any parent is going to look under every rock for potential signs of the child's disability,"" Benson said. ""The timing of the vaccination is coincidentally around the time that children will exhibit the characteristics.""
There is still no clearly defined cause of autism, but UW-Madison is leading the search for answers at the University's Waisman Center, funded by grants from the National Institute of Health. The Waisman Center is examining a broad range of theories, attempting to gain a better understanding of autism, as well as targeting
possible causes.
Investigations range from using neuro-imaging to understand how the brain functions in people with autism, to looking at twins, one of whom who has autism, to gage how genetics may contribute to the development of autism.
One of the most cutting-edge projects is conducted by Marsha Mailick Selzter, the director of the Waisman Center, and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
According to Abbeduto, the study looks at adolescents and young adults with autism and attempts to understand how the symptoms of autism change with age, as well as the ways autism affects other family members psychologically.
Results posted in the September Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders show that symptoms remain stable for some as they mature, but for many, symptoms improve over time - a sign of hope for many parents.
""The number of projects on autism ... have increased dramatically over the last five to 10 years,"" Abbeduto said. ""I think that what we are seeing [in the Waisman Center] is one of the premier research centers for autism.""
Even so, researchers are vollying to stay on top of the latest developments.
""Many of our researchers are applying for other research grants,"" Abbeduto said. ""I think it's important that we not only do research but that we provide services for families affected by autism.""
To this end, the Waisman Center offers diagnostic clinics as well as a preschool that provides educational therapeutic services for children with autism. In addition, Madison offers several other services for families as well, including The Autism Society of Greater Madison and the Wisconsin Early Autism project. Most recent is the Common Threads Family Resource Center, opened Oct. 1 of last year.
The center, which provides treatments such as art and music therapy along with psychological counseling, held a fundraiser this January to raise $250,000 for operational costs by Feb. 15 after losing one of their main funding sources. Parents have already raised more than half the money, with less than $100,000 remaining until the goal is reached.
Students on campus have recently begun to reach out to the autistic community as well. Founded just last semester, the Student Association of Volunteers for Autism assists and raises money for multiple community and national autism organizations and aims to increase autism awareness on campus.
Junior Joseph Burdowski, president and founder of SAVA, emphasized the necessity of volunteering around Madison.
""The most important thing we can do is give our time,"" Burdowski said, adding that he hopes to get involved in volunteering around local schools as well.
Later this semester, SAVA will become the first chapter in a college campus to team up with Autism Speaks, a national organization raising funding and awareness for autism.
""I've really been looking for a group of committed students,"" Burdowksi said. ""We're just trying to get our bearings.""
As researchers and parents alike struggle to fit the pieces of this mysterious disorder together, it is becoming increasingly apparent that autism is potentially caused by a multitude of factors that affect each person differently, according to Abbeduto.
Benson argued that early identification in children is key, because although autism continues to grow in prominence with each new breakthrough, ""there is never enough awareness.""
