CDC autism rates 1 in 68 kids..... 1 in 42 boys!

[Anonymous]

There is a frequent poster who looks for every opportunity to ring the bell of over diagnosis. She is obsessed with the idea that not only has her child been misdiagnosed (which I don't doubt) but therefore that means all of our children have been misdiagnosed. Its infuriating because she's obviously not met our children (or, in my case, my brothers and nephew, all clearly with AS). She thinks we're all pulling some kind of fraud to get services. Ridiculous because those of us with kids at the higher functioning end of the spectrum have trouble getting services, even with the diagnosis. Everyone thinks our kids should be little geniuses who don't need supports.

As for the difficulty of diagnosing kids with"a disorder having to do with social functioning" there are criteria that have to be met. And it really isn't social functioning, its social learning and communication. Lots of people have trouble with socialization for a lot of reasons. AS is a global disorder and a very specific disorder.

[Anonymous]

Sorry. We went there several years ago and they were in network at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's not an epidemic. It's gross misdiagnosis/overdiagnosis/sloppy diagnosis to get services.

Also, they did not use the DSM 5 -- and that will cut autism dxs by a third.

So you are saying that there are a bunch of kids who are getting services they don't need? That parents are in cahoots with doctors to get their kids services they don't need. Why would they do that?

...so that insurance will cover therapy - that's why. Many therapies for kids on spectrum also help kids with ADHD, Sensory issues, MERLD

I don't think I have run into insurance plans which deny coverage for these conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of studies that say that many kids with ASD/Asperger's are NOT getting diagnosed and NOT getting the services and supports that they need and are entitled to.

Studies? I've seen none of those. Opinions, yes.

Links?

Don't have time to look but someone posted this link;

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273229.php

Not exactly what you are looking for but the article does not indicate much if any misdiagnosis for Asperger's


Here is an NPR story on why Asperger's is now ASD/Asperger's in the DSM-5


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123527833


Note, it's to get services. Unlike ASD, having an Asperger's diagnosis did not automatically qualify kids with the diagnosis for services/supports in some states most notably California.

Nothing automatically qualifies someone for services in the area of autism spectrum. It's all about your ability to perform in a classroom environment. A label doesn't decide that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of studies that say that many kids with ASD/Asperger's are NOT getting diagnosed and NOT getting the services and supports that they need and are entitled to.

Studies? I've seen none of those. Opinions, yes.

Links?

Don't have time to look but someone posted this link;

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273229.php

Not exactly what you are looking for but the article does not indicate much if any misdiagnosis for Asperger's


Here is an NPR story on why Asperger's is now ASD/Asperger's in the DSM-5


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123527833


Note, it's to get services. Unlike ASD, having an Asperger's diagnosis did not automatically qualify kids with the diagnosis for services/supports in some states most notably California.

Nothing automatically qualifies someone for services in the area of autism spectrum. It's all about your ability to perform in a classroom environment. A label doesn't decide that.

Actually, there were quite a few articles that one of the reason they folded Asperger's into the ASD diagnosis is that some states didn't recognize Asperger's as autism and wouldn't provide services.

The other big one was that once a child's language came in there was no true difference in HFA/Asperger's.

A third reason mentioned is that Asperger's had become trendy, with many people self-diagnosing, and that if it were now autism, they would be less likely to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I come to this forum for comfort after hearing "there's nothing we can do" or trying to comfort a child who wants nothing to do with you because he can't connect. Not to read statements from people who question my child's very existence. Let's get beyond that and let's take ASD seriously. My child is high functioning. What does this mean? It means he is intelligent enough to know he is different and to understand (sometimes) when he is isolated from peers. It means people expect him to act his age- but he can't. It means he "looks fine" but still may never be able to live outside an assisted living facility. it means he has been hospitalized twice already for issues that even the doctor can't explain and he is only 8. It means that unless things change, even with all of these "services" he will miss out on everyday childhood things, like camp, and best friends and being able to go somewhere, anywhere without a chaperone. And it means that strangers feel entitled to tell parents, in front of the child, how they should parent. Always offering advice with no idea what it is like to raise a SN child. And don't get me started on dealing with schools, special diplomas and such.

Sorry to vent. But this caught me after two nights of no sleep because DS can't sleep- even with melatonin. Because ASD kids tend to worry about everything and have trouble shutting down. And did I mention the sensory issues... DS accidentally cutting himself while doing origami but not being able to feel it?

Yes, services are great. It allows DS to go to school and to remain at home instead of in inpatient care. It keeps me from crying every night because I want to make his world better like any other parent, but the deck seems stacked. Services allow us to have periodic moments of "normalcy" like having the entire family go out instead of just going out two at a time. If you don't live it, you haven't a clue. Is this the life people are scamming for?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I come to this forum for comfort after hearing "there's nothing we can do" or trying to comfort a child who wants nothing to do with you because he can't connect. Not to read statements from people who question my child's very existence. Let's get beyond that and let's take ASD seriously. My child is high functioning. What does this mean? It means he is intelligent enough to know he is different and to understand (sometimes) when he is isolated from peers. It means people expect him to act his age- but he can't. It means he "looks fine" but still may never be able to live outside an assisted living facility. it means he has been hospitalized twice already for issues that even the doctor can't explain and he is only 8. It means that unless things change, even with all of these "services" he will miss out on everyday childhood things, like camp, and best friends and being able to go somewhere, anywhere without a chaperone. And it means that strangers feel entitled to tell parents, in front of the child, how they should parent. Always offering advice with no idea what it is like to raise a SN child. And don't get me started on dealing with schools, special diplomas and such.

Sorry to vent. But this caught me after two nights of no sleep because DS can't sleep- even with melatonin. Because ASD kids tend to worry about everything and have trouble shutting down. And did I mention the sensory issues... DS accidentally cutting himself while doing origami but not being able to feel it?

Yes, services are great. It allows DS to go to school and to remain at home instead of in inpatient care. It keeps me from crying every night because I want to make his world better like any other parent, but the deck seems stacked. Services allow us to have periodic moments of "normalcy" like having the entire family go out instead of just going out two at a time. If you don't live it, you haven't a clue. Is this the life people are scamming for?

Hope things are going better.Not much I can say except know that many of us have been through this and there are people who understand. A support group might help you at least to have people who understand what you are going through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

Sorry to post a really off-topic question here, but the above criteria were really helpful for me in understanding the diagnosis of Asperger's. Do you have or could you describe a similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS? Or could you point me to somewhere to look to figure out that info on my own?

-Mom who is very new to this with a toddler undergoing evaluation

No similar breakdown unfortunately. And it's all Autism Spectrum Disorder: Keeping the old DSM-4 diagnosis as a "type" is simply to indicate where on the spectrum the child falls because there is a huge range.

PDD-NOS was the catch all for kids who did not quite fit HFA/Asperger's. For instance, the kid did not fit into Asperger's b/c he lacked the obsessive interests. From what I observed at our school, the kids who had an IEP for PDD-NOS did not lose their IEP or services when the DSM-5 came out b/c they they were no longer "autistic" no matter the pp who keeps repeating how PDD-NOS is no longer recognized as ASD.

Hopefully, by having ASD rather than the alphabet soup of AS, PDD-NOS, HFA... More kids are getting the help and supports they need. Best of luck to your baby! Your a great mom for getting your child help so early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

There are many clinicians who report a rash of overdiagnosis. For example: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/opinion/aspergers-history-of-over-diagnosis.html?_r=0

The point about the CDC study is that it does NOT use clinical diagnoses. It uses a variety of records to find "autism symptoms":

"ADDM does not rely on professional or family reporting of an existing ASD diagnosis or classification to ascertain case status. Instead, information is obtained from children's evaluation records to determine the presence of ASD symptoms at any time from birth through the end of the year when the child reaches age 8 years."

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w

It's a paper diagnosis based on clinical records of unknown integrity. The CDC researchers never see the child at all, much less evaluate the quality of the underlying records. In some cases it sounds like all it would take to be counted as autistic would be several school records noting that a child seems shy or to enjoy playing along. I am really wondering how in the world it can be considered a valid scientific method.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

There are many clinicians who report a rash of overdiagnosis. For example: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/opinion/aspergers-history-of-over-diagnosis.html?_r=0

The point about the CDC study is that it does NOT use clinical diagnoses. It uses a variety of records to find "autism symptoms":

"ADDM does not rely on professional or family reporting of an existing ASD diagnosis or classification to ascertain case status. Instead, information is obtained from children's evaluation records to determine the presence of ASD symptoms at any time from birth through the end of the year when the child reaches age 8 years."

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w

It's a paper diagnosis based on clinical records of unknown integrity. The CDC researchers never see the child at all, much less evaluate the quality of the underlying records. In some cases it sounds like all it would take to be counted as autistic would be several school records noting that a child seems shy or to enjoy playing along. I am really wondering how in the world it can be considered a valid scientific method.

For better or worse, Autism Spectrum Disorder encompasses a range from Kanner autism (the paper you are quoting) and Aspergers/PDD-NOS (mainly problems related to social communication). Your first article if you look at the date is an op-ed against including Asperger's into ASD b/c of the "stigma of Autism" and was among a slew of articles and debates even among people with Asperger's prior to the DSM-5. The matter has been settled with the DSM-5: Asperger's is a part of ASD.

You can talk about a "paper diagnosis" when talking about studies and argue about it abstractly. Personally, I don't care what you think.

My child with Asperger's has been evaluated by a developmental pediatrician and three child neuropsychologists who all diagnosed ASD/Asperger's type and don't take kindly to people like you questioning the diagnosis of people you never met.

The first article is hilarious in some ways: So Warren Buffet learned his social skills from Dale Carnegie and another guy with Asperger's from Emily Post?!? So did my Aspie DH! + plus some courses as a foreign service officer: I prefer my child with Asperger's to learn those skills at school while young through his IEP, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

Sorry to post a really off-topic question here, but the above criteria were really helpful for me in understanding the diagnosis of Asperger's. Do you have or could you describe a similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS? Or could you point me to somewhere to look to figure out that info on my own?

-Mom who is very new to this with a toddler undergoing evaluation

No similar breakdown unfortunately. And it's all Autism Spectrum Disorder: Keeping the old DSM-4 diagnosis as a "type" is simply to indicate where on the spectrum the child falls because there is a huge range.

PDD-NOS was the catch all for kids who did not quite fit HFA/Asperger's. For instance, the kid did not fit into Asperger's b/c he lacked the obsessive interests. From what I observed at our school, the kids who had an IEP for PDD-NOS did not lose their IEP or services when the DSM-5 came out b/c they they were no longer "autistic" no matter the pp who keeps repeating how PDD-NOS is no longer recognized as ASD.

Hopefully, by having ASD rather than the alphabet soup of AS, PDD-NOS, HFA... More kids are getting the help and supports they need. Best of luck to your baby! Your a great mom for getting your child help so early.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, PP. This was really helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

Sorry to post a really off-topic question here, but the above criteria were really helpful for me in understanding the diagnosis of Asperger's. Do you have or could you describe a similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS? Or could you point me to somewhere to look to figure out that info on my own?

-Mom who is very new to this with a toddler undergoing evaluation

No similar breakdown unfortunately. And it's all Autism Spectrum Disorder: Keeping the old DSM-4 diagnosis as a "type" is simply to indicate where on the spectrum the child falls because there is a huge range.

PDD-NOS was the catch all for kids who did not quite fit HFA/Asperger's. For instance, the kid did not fit into Asperger's b/c he lacked the obsessive interests. From what I observed at our school, the kids who had an IEP for PDD-NOS did not lose their IEP or services when the DSM-5 came out b/c they they were no longer "autistic" no matter the pp who keeps repeating how PDD-NOS is no longer recognized as ASD.

Hopefully, by having ASD rather than the alphabet soup of AS, PDD-NOS, HFA... More kids are getting the help and supports they need. Best of luck to your baby! Your a great mom for getting your child help so early.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, PP. This was really helpful.

Full-text of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the related diagnosis of social communication disorder (SCD): http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

There are many clinicians who report a rash of overdiagnosis. For example: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/opinion/aspergers-history-of-over-diagnosis.html?_r=0

The point about the CDC study is that it does NOT use clinical diagnoses. It uses a variety of records to find "autism symptoms":

"ADDM does not rely on professional or family reporting of an existing ASD diagnosis or classification to ascertain case status. Instead, information is obtained from children's evaluation records to determine the presence of ASD symptoms at any time from birth through the end of the year when the child reaches age 8 years."

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w

It's a paper diagnosis based on clinical records of unknown integrity. The CDC researchers never see the child at all, much less evaluate the quality of the underlying records. In some cases it sounds like all it would take to be counted as autistic would be several school records noting that a child seems shy or to enjoy playing along. I am really wondering how in the world it can be considered a valid scientific method.

For better or worse, Autism Spectrum Disorder encompasses a range from Kanner autism (the paper you are quoting) and Aspergers/PDD-NOS (mainly problems related to social communication). Your first article if you look at the date is an op-ed against including Asperger's into ASD b/c of the "stigma of Autism" and was among a slew of articles and debates even among people with Asperger's prior to the DSM-5. The matter has been settled with the DSM-5: Asperger's is a part of ASD.

You can talk about a "paper diagnosis" when talking about studies and argue about it abstractly. Personally, I don't care what you think.

My child with Asperger's has been evaluated by a developmental pediatrician and three child neuropsychologists who all diagnosed ASD/Asperger's type and don't take kindly to people like you questioning the diagnosis of people you never met.

The first article is hilarious in some ways: So Warren Buffet learned his social skills from Dale Carnegie and another guy with Asperger's from Emily Post?!? So did my Aspie DH! + plus some courses as a foreign service officer: I prefer my child with Asperger's to learn those skills at school while young through his IEP, thank you.

I'm a different poster. These CDC numbers are so faulty, and it is easy to prove.

If autism numbers were exploding, so should the percentage of children receiving special education services. But the numbers are falling, actually, and what's clear is that children who were once considered mentally retarded, learning disabled or speech impaired are now being called autistic. The numbers in fact reflect his.

Here are the government numbers that prove it:

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=64

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

Sorry to post a really off-topic question here, but the above criteria were really helpful for me in understanding the diagnosis of Asperger's. Do you have or could you describe a similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS? Or could you point me to somewhere to look to figure out that info on my own?

-Mom who is very new to this with a toddler undergoing evaluation

No similar breakdown unfortunately. And it's all Autism Spectrum Disorder: Keeping the old DSM-4 diagnosis as a "type" is simply to indicate where on the spectrum the child falls because there is a huge range.

PDD-NOS was the catch all for kids who did not quite fit HFA/Asperger's. For instance, the kid did not fit into Asperger's b/c he lacked the obsessive interests. From what I observed at our school, the kids who had an IEP for PDD-NOS did not lose their IEP or services when the DSM-5 came out b/c they they were no longer "autistic" no matter the pp who keeps repeating how PDD-NOS is no longer recognized as ASD.

Hopefully, by having ASD rather than the alphabet soup of AS, PDD-NOS, HFA... More kids are getting the help and supports they need. Best of luck to your baby! Your a great mom for getting your child help so early.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, PP. This was really helpful.

Full-text of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the related diagnosis of social communication disorder (SCD): http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

Thank you, PP! Based on this it is very difficult for me to guess at what the results of my son's evaluation might indicate. He is very young still (14 months), which I am guessing means there are simply indicators at this point in time rather that anything truly diagnosable. I am hoping that some of his issues are "merely" delays, but what has me most worried are the delays/deficits in the broad realm of communication. They are across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These numbers the CDC throws out are always faulty. First, they are looking at records. Second, they use school labels as well and states vary widely on what they consider autism. That's why you see the wide swing in numbers. Not all these children have actual diagnoses from doctors.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/health/cdc-autism/

However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up.

"Twenty years ago we thought of autism with intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence" -- doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein.

Wiznitzer believes written reports can't definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

"This report tells us that there's a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as [b]social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems," he says.[/b]

Thanks for this. Diagnosing high functioning autism correctly must be a really hands on, subjective thing - how else can you diagnose a disorder that has to do with social functioning? I have never understood why the CDC approach has any validity whatsoever since all it does it look at paper records and non-clinical labels, and no quality controls on the diagnoses at all.

Well, having just social anxiety, social immaturity, etc. does not qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis. Even in the DSM-5, to get ASD/Asperger's type you need besides having at least normal intelligence and no speech delay other than pragmatics:

1. social communication disorder
2. repetitive behaviors
3. obsessive interests.

ALL THREE. It's a rigid criteria and I doubt there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of Asperger's like some posters are saying.

Sorry to post a really off-topic question here, but the above criteria were really helpful for me in understanding the diagnosis of Asperger's. Do you have or could you describe a similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS? Or could you point me to somewhere to look to figure out that info on my own?

-Mom who is very new to this with a toddler undergoing evaluation

No similar breakdown unfortunately. And it's all Autism Spectrum Disorder: Keeping the old DSM-4 diagnosis as a "type" is simply to indicate where on the spectrum the child falls because there is a huge range.

PDD-NOS was the catch all for kids who did not quite fit HFA/Asperger's. For instance, the kid did not fit into Asperger's b/c he lacked the obsessive interests. From what I observed at our school, the kids who had an IEP for PDD-NOS did not lose their IEP or services when the DSM-5 came out b/c they they were no longer "autistic" no matter the pp who keeps repeating how PDD-NOS is no longer recognized as ASD.

Hopefully, by having ASD rather than the alphabet soup of AS, PDD-NOS, HFA... More kids are getting the help and supports they need. Best of luck to your baby! Your a great mom for getting your child help so early.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, PP. This was really helpful.

Full-text of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the related diagnosis of social communication disorder (SCD): http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

Thank you, PP! Based on this it is very difficult for me to guess at what the results of my son's evaluation might indicate. He is very young still (14 months), which I am guessing means there are simply indicators at this point in time rather that anything truly diagnosable. I am hoping that some of his issues are "merely" delays, but what has me most worried are the delays/deficits in the broad realm of communication. They are across the board.

You're welcome. I'm new at this, too; my son was 17 months when Dx. Despite what many people believe, diagnosis can be made this early, but they might not be able to accurately assess severity (where he is on the spectrum) or predict outcome. They used to hold off on a diagnosis until 3 y.o., but now they want to identify ASD kids way before that, because early intervention is so important. Good luck!