OUR OPINION
Autism deserves more research funds
THE ISSUE
Two surfers are biking and paddling across the state to raise money for autism research.
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AUTISM is the nation's fastest-growing developmental disability, and one for which no medical detection or cure has been found. Major efforts are being made across the country to raise money for research, but none is more creative than the laudable activity of Hawaii filmmakers Don and Julianne King.
The Kings noticed three years ago that their 3-year-old son, Beau, was losing motor skills and the ability to speak. With camera in hand, they consulted doctors in Hawaii, Boston and Baltimore who diagnosed Beau as being afflicted with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Kings then produced a documentary, "Beautiful Son," about their quest to "recover Beau from Autism."
In May, the Kings' friend and big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton biked and paddled 264 miles from Paris to London to publicize the film, now being edited. On Wednesday, Hamilton and Dave Kalama began a bike-surfboard journey of some 500 miles from one end of Hawaii's main islands to the other, beginning on the Big Island and ending Monday on Kauai.
Public attention is needed to correct the grossly insufficient funding to find the cause and cure of autism. One in 166 children are diagnosed with autism, a 60-fold increase from 1987.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 300,000 children are afflicted with autism, more than those diagnosed with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined. Of the $29 billion in the budget of the National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation, only $100 million -- less than one-third of 1 percent -- goes toward autism research.
Donations can be made made online at www.beautifulson.com or by mail to Swell Cinema, 182 Grand View Ave., San Francisco, CA 94114.
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HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
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