Somali And White Children With High Cases of Autism

by TJ Chambers

Why do Somali and White children in Minnesota have almost the same rate of Autism which is about double of other races?

Some say children have Autism because of genetics but this blows that out of the water. Especially since there is no Autism in Somalia.

The below information is taken from an article written in 2009 about Autism affecting Somalian families in Canada but reveals very startling information if you compare the facts to the United States.

"In Somalia, we had kids with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. But nobody had ever heard of autism," Ms. Hassan recalls. "And believe me, it's not something you can hide."

"The condition, which Somalis call the "western disease" or the "disease from abroad," appears to have struck their community with a particular vengeance. While no data are available on prevalence, Somali parents in Canada are concerned enough to go public about what they say is a sleeping epidemic."

"Autism affects about one in 150 Canadians, according to Health Canada, making it more common than childhood cancer, diabetes or AIDS."

Quotes from The Somali autism puzzle.

A Somali mother in Minnesota asked for an investigation about the high number of Somali children with Autism. Keep in mind as stated above, in Somalia, there is no Autism. In all of Canada, it is 1 in 150.

In 2010 a study was done and here are the results from Study Finds High Rate of Autism among Minneapolis Somali Community.

"The Minneapolis study determined an overall ASD prevalence higher than the 1 in 88 national average. However, 1 in 48 remains in line with rates at some other U.S. reporting sites, which vary widely."

1 in 88 in the US vs 1 in 150 in Canada. That is almost double the amount.

The total population looked at in Minneapolis to provide the following numbers are as follows;

"somali 1,007"
"white 4336"
"black 3312"
"hispanic 2399"

The numbers for children with autism based on race are as follows:

"somali 1/32"
"white 1/36"
"black 1/62"
"hispanic" 1/80"

While it appears that whites and somali are almost equal, that may not be true. The population for whites is over 4 times the amount of somali children. If there were 4 times the somali children, we don't know if the numbers could be higher or lower.

Whatever is going on, it is definitely a problem and I wouldn't trust the government or medical establishment to figure it out.