Former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson recently became a senior national advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As part of his role, he’s been addressing one of the nation’s top health concerns, the rise in autism rates.
Dr. Carson has called the trend an “explosion” of autism that goes far beyond a coincidence. In recent years, autism cases have gone from around one in 4,000-10,000 to one in 36. That’s an overwhelming and drastic development.
Dr. Carson is also concerned that the nation’s life expectancy is falling, whereas other developed nations are seeing an increase in life expectancy rates. One of the factors contributing to the falling life expectancy rate, according to Dr. Carson’s hypothesis, is the foods that are commonly consumed in America. Many modern-day foods contain artificial sweeteners and colors. Dr. Carson also plans to focus on issues like obesity, the ongoing mental health crisis in America, and all other unhealthy conditions in the U.S. He is on board with the plan to truly help Americans become as healthy as possible.
Dr. Carson is highly qualified in his field. He’s a retired neurosurgeon, most well known for performing the very first separation of twins who were born joined at the back of the head in 1987. He also consistently performed neurosurgical procedures for fetuses while still in the womb. He also made history by becoming the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery at the John Hopkins Children’s Center when he was only 33 years old.
How to Navigate an Autism Diagnosis
There is one major silver lining to the fact that autism rates are rising, and that is the notion that more individuals are getting the right diagnosis and accessing the resources and support they need. If your family was recently impacted by an autism diagnosis, then you might also be consumed with determining what caused your loved one’s condition, what to do about it, and how to move forward.
Here at the Nevada Autism Center, our team seeks to help children who have been diagnosed with autism access ABA therapy. ABA therapy is evidence-based and primarily focuses on using positive reinforcement to help students grow, shed maladaptive coping mechanisms, learn new skills, and change. Our team strives to help each child become as independent and autonomous as possible. We offer family guidance, community support, and provide compassionate care towards everyone who seeks help at our facility.
Children will get the opportunity to develop their social skills and adaptive skills. They can participate in summer camps that focus on school readiness and model classrooms to help reinforce positive behaviors.
Our facility accepts a range of insurance plans including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, UMR, and Health Plan of Nevada. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help your family, then contact our team now at (702) 660-2005. You can also get a head start on the enrollment process by filling out our online form.
