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Holly Robinson Peete's Activism for Autism Bolstered by New Figures

By Lynette Holloway on Dec 30th 2009 4:39PM
Filed under: Interviews, Disease Prevention

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After Holly Robinson Peete's oldest son RJ was diagnosed with autism, she and husband Rodney expanded the work of their foundation for Parkinson's disease to help individuals and their families whose children have the disorder.

Autism "can decimate families physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually,'' says the Web site for hollyrod4kids initiative. And the number of children affected by the disease continues to grow, according to a report released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 1 in 100 children have autism, the new figures report. That's a slight jump from a 1 in 110 estimate released by the Centers for Disease Control in the fall.
The increase may be the result of the work of health care professionals and activists, like Peete, who have pushed for early screening of children, arguing that the sooner it's caught, the better children respond to therapy.

When Peete began seeking information for her son in the 1990s, there was an information desert, she told AOL Black Voices in August. No one, including health care professionals, knew much about the disease, which prompted Peete to include autism in her work at the Hollyrod Foundation, which she originally established to raise awareness about Parkinson's.

"If you don't have the resources to take care of your loved one or child with autism, you miss out on a lot of opportunities to help them get better and live a great quality of life,'' Peete said. "We see so many people struggling just to get by day to day. That's why it's been our mission to peddle a little corny thing called hope.''

Doctors are still trying to determine the cause of the disorder, which is diagnosed by observing a child's behavior, among other things.

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