CNN report -- Autism: Could high U.S. rate be due to over-diagnosis?

[Anonymous]

I think part of this may have to do with the spectrum being so large, and the need to use the diagnosis to force insurance companies and schools systems to pay for the extra support these kids need (ex. therapy, additional support in classrooms).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

I didn't say there was an epidemic of it, but wealthy parents do have the means and sometimes will abuse the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/23/health/autism-misdiagnosis-rate/

It's good to see more mainstream media on this.

Wow, you're really out of the loop. The mainstream media isn't "on this." The report came out over a year ago:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

The "rise" in autism is tied to the 1973 FAPE legislation:
https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_chung_autism_what_we_know_and_what_we_don_t_know_yet?language=en

We also get it. Please get over your kid's diagnosis or misdiagnosis. So no need to post pointless links.

That report came out a year ago. THIS one is newer and the information is just hitting the media now, from what I've seen:


http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/study-suggests-autism-being-overdiagnosed-n450671

Blumberg's team followed up on a national survey of more than 1,500 parents of kids with autism.

"Approximately 13 percent of the children ever diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were estimated to have lost the diagnosis, and parents of 74 percent of them believed it was changed due to new information," Blumberg's team wrote.

This means 9 percent of the children originally diagnosed with autism got that diagnosis changed. Many got a new diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, the researchers found.

"It is possible this is the result of the high overlap between the symptoms of these disorders," they wrote.

It's possible that language and developmental delays look like autism, and it's also possible that kids with other learning disabilities are given an autism diagnosis because services are more available in some places for children with autism, they said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think part of this may have to do with the spectrum being so large, and the need to use the diagnosis to force insurance companies and schools systems to pay for the extra support these kids need (ex. therapy, additional support in classrooms).

But, there is also a wide range of normal, or at least there used to be. Now, it seems that normal range is getting smaller and smaller, and any "quirk" or what could be just immaturity is being diagnosed as ADHD or other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

On the contrary, I think we have lower standards of child care, based on my observations on how other Western cultures care for their young children. They tend to understand that the early years are the foundation years. Unfortunately, you can never really catch up down the road.

Quality of early care is critical no matter who's providing it, family, nanny or daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

And all parents of school aged children should care because providing supports is expensive, and pretty much all districts are suffering from massive budget cuts.

Kids will still need interventions, but the law doesn't create specified diagnoses--you're in a particular category and that's it:
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedfiles/departments/ims/support/iep_disability_codes.pdf

That's how they wrote IDEA Rehabilitation Act in 1973.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know the autism rate of children in India?

[Anonymous]

1 in 250 according to the Times of India.

[Anonymous]

My child is one of those kids. His doctor insists he is autism "by history" and insists it is a category. He is one of those language disorder kids. Many "symptoms" appear similar early on but those misdiagnosed generally outgrow the symptoms as what ever else is going on is slowly resolved. We also have a culture that has gone from not diagnosing to everything is a diagnosis, including sensory issues. It really discredits those with true autism as they do not get the support needed. It is a catch-22 as there is far more funding if a child is autism vs. language delay or something else. The therapies are not all the same. ABA is good for autism but not for speech delays. We tried it and it was a waste of time (we had a great therapist who tried) and we dumped it for more speech. I've thought all along we are over diagnosing and many clinicians are not skilled enough to pick up the minor differences, especially for those of us who only get yearly 1-2 hour appointments (and the doc's don't take the time to get to know our kids).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

+1. Rich parents want their NT children labeled autistic and want unneeded services and/or tuition for SN schools enough to file for due process at great $$$ against school systems. Really?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

I didn't say there was an epidemic of it, but wealthy parents do have the means and sometimes will abuse the system.

The ones I know with the means to sue, don't. They go private instead. Very few suits are filed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

+1. Rich parents want their NT children labeled autistic and want unneeded services and/or tuition for SN schools enough to file for due process at great $$$ against school systems. Really?!?

Some do. Do they publicize it? Of course not. No one would admit to it, but it happens.

https://autismandoughtisms.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/when-a-doctor-over-diagnoses-autism/

There is a particular doctor who is well-known in the local autism community, for being the “go-to” guy when you can’t get anyone else to confirm that your child has autism. (Hear alarm bells going off already?) I’ve personally heard and seen his name recommended to others in that capacity.....
I’ve seen this doctor particularly recommended to people who were keen to get government paid financial assistance for their difficult child. This same doctor is also known for being a bit too fond of medicating children, where other pediatricians are far more reluctant to fall back on medicating the young.

He’s not cheap either, if you don’t approach him through the public system. You’re looking at almost $400 for an hour session, which is all he requires to make a diagnosis."

There are other stories. Like I said. I don't think it's common, but it does happy, and no one's going to admit it out loud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

I didn't say there was an epidemic of it, but wealthy parents do have the means and sometimes will abuse the system.

The ones I know with the means to sue, don't. They go private instead. Very few suits are filed.

I thought most private schools didn't have great autism services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This? This right here is why 1 in 68 kids have "autism" now in the US. But not in Canada or Germany or any other industrialized wealthy nation.

I could care less if ASD is over diagnosed as long as these kids are getting the help they need.

Maybe because the USA has a higher standard for children.

You think we have more higher standards than most of Western Europe and Canada and Australia? No. If we did, we'd have way more social services. We do, however, have a system where a parent can sue the school district to push for services. In some ways, that's a good thing, obviously. But, certainly, there are wealthy parents that have the means to abuse the system.

You think there is an epidemic of wealthy parents suing the school systems to get their non-autistic children autism services?

+1. Rich parents want their NT children labeled autistic and want unneeded services and/or tuition for SN schools enough to file for due process at great $$$ against school systems. Really?!?

Some do. Do they publicize it? Of course not. No one would admit to it, but it happens.

https://autismandoughtisms.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/when-a-doctor-over-diagnoses-autism/

There is a particular doctor who is well-known in the local autism community, for being the “go-to” guy when you can’t get anyone else to confirm that your child has autism. (Hear alarm bells going off already?) I’ve personally heard and seen his name recommended to others in that capacity.....
I’ve seen this doctor particularly recommended to people who were keen to get government paid financial assistance for their difficult child. This same doctor is also known for being a bit too fond of medicating children, where other pediatricians are far more reluctant to fall back on medicating the young.

He’s not cheap either, if you don’t approach him through the public system. You’re looking at almost $400 for an hour session, which is all he requires to make a diagnosis."

There are other stories. Like I said. I don't think it's common, but it does happy, and no one's going to admit it out loud.

Really? Around here?

Did not realize having a child with an ASD diagnosis was so "popular" and something parents sought out. In fact, if you read most of the posts even on this forum many parents beg and plead off their child having an autism education label for school services (not even a medical diagnosis) because of the stigma they associate with it.

[Anonymous]

That link is to a blog by some mom in New Zealand written in 2011. Not sure how that is relevant to the number of autism diagnosed in the U.S.