Silver City, NM - A select group of experts in various professions including social work were selected to participate in the recent ICF Consensus Conference, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Western New Mexico University professor Patricia West-Okiri was one of the participants who shared her expertise on autism and the core features of the disorder.

Organized by the Karolinksa Institute Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), the objective of the conference was to develop the first eversion of the ICF Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The ICF is the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

"I participated in the conference as a professional who works in the area of autism," said West-Okiri who teaches social work majors at WNMU. "The core features include what we would think of as the symptoms we have heard, like different social skills and behaviors, but also some that are common but not part of what doctors might look at, like sensory problems and physical symptoms."

West-Okiri described those lesser-known symptoms, including toe-walking, sleep problems, food allergies and seizures, as common with autism, but overlooked as part of the diagnostic picture.

As part of her participation in the conference, West-Okiri is a member of the committee that will help decide what core features will be forwarded to the World Health Organization.

"These materials will then be used to develop diagnostic assessments used internationally and to inform the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a manual used world-wide in diagnosis and classification of all known diseases and illnesses," said West-Okiri.

Recent statistics by the Center for Disease Control reveal that 1 in 68 children in the United States have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

"This represents an alarming increase even from 2002 when this figure was 1 in 150, and from the 1980's when the number was closer to 1 in 2000," said West-Okiri.

Participation in the international conference will reap benefits to the regional area where West-Okiri has been a leader in developing awareness and services for people with learning and physical disabilities.

"When it comes to autism, I have seen firsthand that it is not merely a mental disorder," said West-Okiri. "It is multifaceted and affects the individual in physical and social ways as well."