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

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Reply to "CDC autism rates 1 in 68 kids..... 1 in 42 boys!"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]  Wow. Not looking to have yet another discussion about widening the definition of autism vs. true epidemic. I have read enough on the topic to know that there is some of both, leaning more toward epidemic. The definition in the new DSM may decrease the number of diagnoses, but it isn't going to decrease the number of kids with special needs-whether or not those needs have a label.

I have so much to express as a parent of a child with autism, but right now I am too exhausted to be coherent so all I can say is wow. Just wow. What does the future hold?[/quote]

This is because they are calling everything autism.

A professor of Developmental Neuropsychology from Oxford details three studies on this in her blog: http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2012/06/autism-epidemic-and-diagnostic.html

The ‘autism epidemic’ and diagnostic substitution

"[b]Explanation #3 is very different: it says the increase is not a real increase - it’s just a change in what we count as autism. This has been termed ‘diagnostic substitution’ - the basic idea is that children who would previously have received another diagnosis or no diagnosis are now being identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). [/b]This could be in part because of new conceptualisations of autism, but may also be fuelled by strategic considerations: resources for children with ASD tend to be much better than those for children with other related conditions, such as language impairment or intellectual handicaps, so this diagnosis may be preferred.
....

"In 2008, my research group published a study that documented one kind of diagnostic substitution. We contacted people who had taken part in our studies of children with specific language impairment years ago. We carried out a standard diagnostic observation procedure for autism with the young adults themselves and, where possible, interviewed their parents about their early history. We found a number of individuals who had been regarded as cases of specific language impairment ten or twenty years ago but who would nowadays be diagnosed with ASD. "
....
"It is becoming clear that changing diagnostic criteria, increased awareness of ASD, and strategic use of diagnosis to gain access to services, have had a massive effect on the numbers of children with ASD. When I started studies in this area, I thought diagnostic substitution had happened but I did not think it would be sufficient to explain the increase in numbers of ASD diagnoses. But now, on the basis of studies reviewed here, I think it could be the full story."

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