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Autism, Somalians, and Minnesota
Perhaps just a statistical 'cluster', but if not...., very strange.Autism is terrifying the community of Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, and some pediatricians and educators have joined parents in raising the alarm. But public health experts say it is hard to tell whether the apparent surge of cases is an actual outbreak, with a cause that can be addressed, or just a statistical fluke. A small recent study of refugees in schools in Stockholm found that Somalis were in classes for autistic children at three times the normal rate. Somalis began arriving in Minneapolis in 1993, driven out by civil war; now their population in Minnesota is estimated at 30,000 to 60,000. The city is welcoming and social benefits are generous, but many live a life apart as conservative Muslims, the women in head scarves and long dresses. Many Somali men have jobs as taxi drivers or security guards; others are accountants or run shops in the mini-malls catering to Somalis. Antivaccine activists are campaigning among them, which worries public health officials, especially because some families go back and forth to Somalia, where measles is still a significant cause of childhood death, according to Unicef. One of the first to raise the alarm was Anne Harrington, who worked in special education in the Minneapolis schools for 21 years. In the last decade, she said, "we've begun seeing a tremendous number of kids born here who have the more severe forms of autism." Last year, she said, 25 percent of the children in preschool classes offering the most intensive treatment had Somali parents, while only about 6 percent of public school enrollment is Somali. Dr. Daniel S. McLellan, a pediatrician, said that when he began practicing at Children's Hospital six years ago, he was struck by how many autistic Somali children he saw. Posted by: Glenmore 2009-03-19 |
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