Westborough Mom Questions Recent Study on Autism

CDC finds autism affects 1 in 88 children. Westborough mom questions why this isn't considered a public health emergency.

  Ilyse Levine-Kanji, a member of the school committee, lives in Westborough with her husband and two children, the oldest of whom has autism.   by Ilyse Levine-Kanji Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that autism affects 1 in 88 children in the U.S. – and 1 in every 54 boys. This constitutes a 23 percent increase in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases from 2006 to 2008, and a 78 percent increase since 2002. The medical community is not labeling the skyrocketing increase as a “national health emergency,” but merely, as the CDC contended in its press release, an increase “due to the way children are identified, diagnosed and served in their communities.”  This “better diagnosis” argument rings false …

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Committee Approves Increase in Student Activity Fees

Family activity fee cap to hike 170 percent.

  When the Westborough School Committee agreed to a FY13 budget proposal at its Dec. 14 meeting, the panel agreed to implement fees totaling $210,000 in an effort to hold down expenses. This week, the board approved various ways to raise that money, that largest of which raises school activity fees. “This is a way to maintain the quality of our school system,” said member Ilyse Levine-Kanji. The five members unanimously approved raising the school activity fee to $200 per activity, with a family cap of $500. Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, the fee will be in place for each activity involving fine arts, athletics and clubs. Currently, all middle and high school students participating in one or more extracurricular activites are …

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School Committee Member Questions Autism Proposal

Ilyse Levine-Kanji speaks out about the cost of redefining autism.