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][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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, [b]experts [/b]such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein [b]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.[/b]

"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.
[b]
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.[/b]
[b]
"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,"[/b] he says.[/b][/quote]

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.[/quote][/quote]

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.[/quote]

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 [b]similar breakdown of the criteria for ASD and PDD-NOS[/b]?  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[/quote]

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.
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