[Lemon:] A rundown of some of the stories we're working on. Next, more kids and more families are dealing with autism. We'll break it down and tell you about a new report. Then, a rising star in the Republican Party gets behind Mitt Romney. Will it give him the bump that he needs? We going to talk about that new government study that finds in one in every 88 children in America has autism. Check out what's on your screen right now. Back in 2000, one in 150 children had the developmental disorder. And you can see the rate steadily increasing over the years. Joining me now is Mark Roithmayr, the president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Mark, thank you for joining us. This is near and dear to your heart. Are you surprised at this one-in-88 number?
[Mark Roithmayr, President, Autism Speaks:] First of all, it's a pleasure to be here. This one-in-88 number, I think it's time to declare autism is an epidemic in United States. Autism speaks is the leading autism organization in the world. It was started in 2005 by Susan and Bob Bright. At that time, the rate was one in 166. It has nearly doubled in that time. We see also the cost to families, it's almost tripled over the last six years. I'll tell you we're undercounting on both numbers.
[Lemon:] Really?
[Roithmyr:] Yes.
[Lemon:] Why do you think that?
[Roithmayr:] They pull from health and education records. We did a gold study in South Korea where everybody single child got looked at. The rate was one in 38. Folks at the CDC will tell you jerry undercounting.
[Lemon:] Why do you think this number is growing? What's causing it? Is it environmental? You know it's a developmental disorder.
[Roithmayr:] The NIH pays a scientist at Columbia University just on that question, the answer is four fold. Better diagnosis, more awareness, but 50 percent is do not know. What we think there is that there are environmental triggers going on and we need more science dollars to go into environmental research.
[Lemon:] Like what? Because I spoke to Dr. Sanjay Gupta last hour. I said, is there a test? He said, I'm used to ordering a test saying get this and what have you. It's not quite that cut and dried when it comes to autism.
[Roithmayr:] The things we're starting to look at range from everything from internal infection, vitamin D deficiency, maternal age. If women and moms and dads are older having babies, they've been exposed to more toxins over the course of a lifetime. We're looking at things like air pollution. We're looking at things like pesticides.
[Lemon:] You definitely think it is environmental.
[Roithmayr:] So genetic predisposition, environmental trigger. Going forward there's a real clear plan here. You know, we're looking for the coalition of the willing.
[Lemon:] That's what I was going to ask you. What can especially parents do, but is it government, is it schools, but most of all what can all of us do and especially parents?
[Roithmayr:] First of all, with parents or anybody that's out there in America, for parents, if you have young infants and toddlers, look for the early warning signs. Go to autismspeaks.org. You can see it 3, 6, 9, 12 months. We have a video glossary that compares a typically developing child with a child on the spectrum. We have resources where you can go locally.
[Lemon:] If you look on the screen, these are some of the possible signs of autism, delayed and infrequent babbling, doesn't gesture to communicate, poor eye contact, seeks your attention infrequently, doesn't reach out when you approach. That's what you should look for.
[Roithmayr:] Correct. But I want to come back to this concept of a coalition of the willing, what is it going to take? One in 88, one in 54 boys, we have an epidemic going on in the United States. It's the federal, state, and local governments. It's local schools. It's local care providers. And it's three things. We need more science around that environmental side. We can diagnose of all children of all backgrounds by 18 months of age.
[Lemon:] So 18 to 24, you recommend children get screened for autism at ages 18 months and 24 months.
[Roithmayr:] I'll tell you, we can diagnose definitely by 18 months. That's the standard that we want to get to. There's two things in our way of doing that. We need more providers that are out there, almost a national training corps. What we have is such a demand for autism that we're not meeting with the supply of providers. And also insurance. In this country, 21 states that don't cover any autism insurance coverage. We need to change that.
[Lemon:] We're so happy you came, Mark. Thanks for coming on. Mark Roithmayr. Did I say it right, Roithmayr.
[Roithmayr:] And just one last piece. We have the first CDC study that was ever done in 1992. Those kids are now turning 20 year olds. Adults with autism are becoming a bigger and bigger issue. We have to get behind that also.
[Lemon:] Yes, thank you. Pleasure. Appreciate you joining us.
[Roithmayr:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] All right, Mark. Let's talk some politics. He's a rising star in the Republican Party but will Marco Rubio's endorsement be enough to put Latino voters in Mitt Romney's corner? We'll talk about it in our political update.