Morning Zone: Kids-At-Risk on Autism, Lauren Bard-Alex Frye’s Sister on Bullying

7:07AM MDT on Friday's is our Kids-At- Risk day on The Morning Zone. This is a special series of programs where our expert panel, John Frentheway-Child Advocate Attorney and Renee' Hanson, Licensed Professional Counselor, explore those issues and problems that continue to put our kids and families at risk in our community, our state, and our country.  Today, we will be discussing a couple of article s out this week that, according to the CDC,  state that one in 88 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, by age 8, according to a study released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- a rate that has risen far above the 2006 estimate of 1 in 110. But experts remain locked in debate about whether these numbers tell the whole story.
The CDC report, which analyzed data from 2008, indicates a 23 percent rise in diagnoses of ASDs over a two-year period. The news could be most alarming for boys. The study reports that on average 1 in 54 boys was diagnosed with autism, compared to only 1 in 252 girls. But what this rise actually means is still a mystery. Some doctors contacted by ABC News believe a broader definition of autism has contributed to rising rates.

8:07AM MDT, we will continue to ferret out the  continues problems with school bullying. Marvin Nash, founder of the Nash Foundation and the Bullying Hurts Program has been in the news this week as he has taken on Laramie County School District #1 head on concerning their slow progress in getting effective amti-bullying programs in place. Nash says our schools are not safe for our children as long as the District stalls on having the programs in place to curtail bullying. It's been nearly three years since Nash, The State Department of Education and KGAB teamed up to sponsor the first statewide school bullying townhall meeting, and as of today LCSD#1 says it will be next Fall before bullying programs can be fully put in place. This on the heels of the bully-cide death of 13 year old Alex Frye the first of the year. Today, Alex's sister, Lauren Bard will weigh in on the program.