Ray Gallup, Founder
TAAP (The Autism Autoimmunity Project)

source

AM - Wednesday, 26 November , 2003  08:14:39

Reporter: David Weber

DAVID HARDAKER: It seems there's something seriously wrong with our
children if a new study from Perth is to be believed. The study of a group
of five year olds found that one-quarter have developmental problems which
could lead to more serious problems later in life.

Australian of the Year, Professor Fiona Stanley, says the figures are
frightening because the children surveyed are typical of those in any
Australian city.

David Weber reports.

DAVID WEBER: The study covered Perth's richest and poorest suburbs and
everything in-between. The Early Development Index is an assessment of
social, emotional, intellectual and physical capacities at age five.

Twenty-six per cent of the children were found to be vulnerable in at least
one area. Thirteen per cent were considered to be at risk.

Professor Fiona Stanley, from the Institute of Child Health Research.

FIONA STANLEY: The indicators for children and young people are not
travelling well in Australia. We're seeing significant increases in
childhood and adolescent problems. This is where it all starts, it starts
in the very early years, and this is I think a very important contribution
to how we can measure this quite early.

DAVID WEBER: To say that 26 per cent are vulnerable in one or more of the
EDI domains, vulnerable to what?

FIONA STANLEY: Vulnerable I think to later problems. That they are in fact
not ready to start the primary school years, vulnerable in terms of later
behaviour problems, and vulnerable in terms of later cognitive and
intellectual capacity.

DAVID WEBER: Do you think that the figures that are being gathered here in
Perth can be translated across the country?

FIONA STANLEY: Yes they can. There's no doubt that there are differences
among the different suburbs that were sampled in this EDI study in the
Northern Metropolitan region. There are a large number of suburbs. If you
translated this across the country it would probably marry very closely
with the kinds of children and the kinds of risk profiles that they had. So
I don't think this is going to be any different than many of the inner-city
populations that you'd see across Australia.

DAVID WEBER: Professor Stanley says there's a problem for the ageing
population if an increasing number of young people can't fully participate
because they missed an early start. She says many things in society are
making life difficult for new parents.

FIONA STANLEY: Broken families. I mean, you can't tell people not to
divorce, but it, you know, broken families are a very negative thing.
Increasing and stressful hours of work are actually very negative for
family functioning, an increased violence in the community, an increased
violence within the home.

DAVID WEBER: The Perth study covered 4,500 children, teachers filled out
the forms. Information was collected at a suburb or school level. The idea
is that it's a better measure for targeting services and intervention.

Professor Sven Silburn says the Institute of Child Health Research would
like the Early Development Index to be taken further.

SVEN SILBURN: We've got a proposal that we're putting into the Commonwealth
just at the moment that's looking to validate the use of an Australian
adaptation of that instrument, and to develop something that's going to be
nationally applicable and properly validated in Australia.

DAVID WEBER: A study similar to the Early Development Index model is
currently being prepared in Victoria.

DAVID HARDAKER: David Weber in Perth.