Autism Epidemic?

[FMCoug]

This link was posted on Facebook by a friend who is decided of the homeopathic type of bent (anti vaccination, etc.) so I have no idea if the source are crackpots or not ... but the numbers if accurate are a bit distrubing.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/12/-...ear-alone.html


Thoughts?

[UtahDan]

This link was posted on Facebook by a friend who is decided of the homeopathic type of bent (anti vaccination, etc.) so I have no idea if the source are crackpots or not ... but the numbers if accurate are a bit distrubing.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/12/-...ear-alone.html


Thoughts?

These are the vaccine crazies.

[Slim]

A couple of thoughts:

In my child psychopathology classes they told us that the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders is being made more often due to an increased awareness. They used to just call kids "slow" or "mentally retarded" or "socially backward". Now many of these same kinds of cases are being labeled as autistic.

Also there are known chemical teratogens linked to autism and I'm sure there are many more that are unkown. There simply isn't one causal agent of autism and there won't be one single cure either.

[CardiacCoug]

In my child psychopathology classes they told us that the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders is being made more often due to an increased awareness. They used to just call kids "slow" or "mentally retarded" or "socially backward". Now many of these same kinds of cases are being labeled as autistic.

I agree with this.

Remember all those kids that were a little bit strange-acting when we were in elementary school? Now all those kids have "autistic spectrum disorder."

[Babs]

LOL. Did you notice that the article was sponsored by a company that markets "treatments" for autism?

The implications of the data from the CDC are being distorted in order to suit the group's purposes.

[The_Tick]

On a side note...Autism cannot be cured. Anyone that tells you it can be is a crazy.

And they probably are associated with a "program" that "fixes" these kids.

Fail.

[Surfah]

On a side note...Autism cannot be cured. Anyone that tells you it can be is a crazy.

And they probably are associated with a "program" that "fixes" these kids.

Fail.

I thought Jenny McCarthy cured it.

[TheAzzuri]

It would help first to know what the problem(s) is/are, and not just its symptoms.

[ERCougar]

Just to jump in on the weak and faulty correlation debate:
Utah has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country...and one of the highest prevalences of autism.

ergo, vaccines prevent autism.

[ERCougar]

If "awareness" were the case, there would be an increased diagnosis across all age groups, not just the younger group as is being observed now...

Patients and parents don't look for autism diagnoses in older ages. The diagnosis/explanation for their behavioral issues have already been established at that point (even if wrong), and it's possible that some of the higher-functioning Asperger's patients have come up with ways of dealing with their eccentricities and aren't even looking for an explanation.

I'm not saying that autism isn't truly more prevalent now than 20 years ago, but the increase is exaggerated and the vaccine-autism link has been put to rest among every thinking and objective professional out there.

[Katy Lied]

Utah has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.

I didn't know that. That's pretty discouraging.

I've posted before about the family in my ward with six (all of them) children diagnosed with ASD. The younger ones have never been vaccinated, and are the lowest functioning.

I will add that the two high functioning ones are delightful and get straight As. Much of the burden of raising the younger kids falls upon them.

[statman]

A couple of thoughts:

In my child psychopathology classes they told us that the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders is being made more often due to an increased awareness. They used to just call kids "slow" or "mentally retarded" or "socially backward". Now many of these same kinds of cases are being labeled as autistic.

I have an 18 year-old son with moderate autism/Aspergers. His diagnoses varied until he was about 5 from Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Not Otherwise Specified to Autism to Aspergers. He was part of the big wave in the increase of autism. But I highly coubt the disease is really any more prevalent now than previously, rather, the increase in the diagnosis is almost certainly due to the increased in the availability of tools to make gradations of the diagnosis.

In the past (20+ years ago), to get an austims diagnosis, you had to be CLEARLY autistic. Now that they have autism scores that show gradations of autism, you have kids who get the diagnosis who previously would have been considered more or less normal.

Another issue is that 1) the administration of the tests for autism are quite subjective, and 2) school districts, social workers, phychologists, psychiatrists, etc all have INCENTIVE to give a kid an autism diagnosis. When our son first started school, he was classified as having Pervasive Developmental Disorder / NOS. Our school district at the time came to us an asked if they could reclassify him as autistic - and that if they did, they'd get a bunch of money from the federal government specifically for him. We didn't really care that they changed his diagnosis - it wasn't going to affect his schooling or treatment in any way. But it shows that they do indeed have incentives to get a kid classified one way or another. This would also unquestionably add to the number of borderline cases that get scored as 'autistic.'

[Mormon Red Death]

I didn't know that. That's pretty discouraging.

I've posted before about the family in my ward with six (all of them) children diagnosed with ASD. The younger ones have never been vaccinated, and are the lowest functioning.

I will add that the two high functioning ones are delightful and get straight As. Much of the burden of raising the younger kids falls upon them.

Do you live in the ward with the family that was featured on TLC? They were in like bountiful and had 6 kids all on the autism spectrum

[statman]

LOL. Did you notice that the article was sponsored by a company that markets "treatments" for autism?

The implications of the data from the CDC are being distorted in order to suit the group's purposes.

You can 'treat' autistic kids - at least the milder cases. As Tick notes, you cna't cure them. But you can give them coping mechanisms or show behaviors to them and suggest appropriate responses to difference circumstances. These treatments won't cure their autistic tendencies, but can help them learn to socialize more appropriately and have a much better quality of life.

[Katy Lied]

Do you live in the ward with the family that was featured on TLC? They were in like bountiful and had 6 kids all on the autism spectrum

Probably the same family. They've been on Larry King and a bunch of other shows.