The truth behind Rising Autism rates

We’ve all heard the story that autism is on the rise. It seems everyone has an opinion on why. Some blame vaccines, some blame parents, so what’s really behind the rise in Autism? Hey guys Julia here for DNews Autism is a widely misunderstood condition. It’s a neurodevelopmental condition which frequently causes a spectrum of behaviors like problems with social communication and repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior, like lining up toys in a row. But it’s a spectrum, individuals with the disorder have a wide range of abilities and levels of functioning. But as individual as the condition is, there does some to be a common theme. It’s much more common now than it was in years past. For the past few decades, the rate of those diagnosed with autism has been steadily on the rise. In the 1970s and 1980s, about one out of every 2,000 children had autism, now a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey published in November 2015 of parents found that one out of 45 kids have the condition. So what’s behind the rise? Part of the rise can be explained by simple greater awareness. After a 2014 CDC study, director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Coleen Boyle noted that the rise could be explained by a “greater awareness in the community around autism” and a better training of education and medical professionals. With this most recent survey, the CDC suggests that the rise in rates is mostly due to a change in the questions parents were asked. The CDC surveyed more than 11,000 families and asked them “ if a health professional ever told them that their child had autism, Asperger's disorder, pervasive developmental disorder or autism spectrum disorder.” This wording was a noticeable change from previous surveys because it specifically asked about Asperger’s. You see, Asperger’s is no longer in diagnostic manuals, it hasn’t been since 2013. It’s now folded under the umbrella of “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. And this changing of diagnoses and categorizing of learning disabilities is what other research indicates is responsible for most of the rise in cases of Autism. Another study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics found that the rise is “partly the result of students being moved from one category to another. And not just from Asperger’s to Autism, but a shift from a diagnoses of “intellectual disability” to a diagnoses of autism. The study found that in just a ten year period from 2000 and 2010, diagnoses of autism rose from 93,000 in 2000 to 419,000. But at the same time diagnoses of intellectual disability fell from 637,000 to 457,000. So basically the findings of studies like this show that the number of kids diagnosed with “brain development” problems hasn’t changed all that much. It’s really a shift in diagnoses. And shifting a diagnoses, is pretty smart from a parent’s perspective. For starters, “autism” is becoming more socially acceptable than intellectual disability or as it used to be called, mental retardation. But more importantly, communities and schools have so many more resources now that we know more about autism and how powerful early intervention is. Several studies like one published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that autism-specific, one-on-one intervention in toddlers with the condition improves their intellectual ability and reduces their symptoms. And that kind of treatment can come with a hefty price tag but thankfully most medical insurance companies are now required to cover mental and developmental conditions the same way as any other medical conditions. So we’re living in age where resources are widely available and covered by insurance. So it’s in the parent’s and the child’s best interest to get the correct diagnoses as early as possible. Which thanks to organizations like the Autism Society raising awareness, more kids are getting the help they need. So no, vaccines aren’t the reason you’ve heard so much about autism lately. It’s because of greater awareness which is a good thing! But if you’re curious about how that whole autism vaccine link got started, comment below and wait for my next post, got any other questions about modern medicine? Leave them down below and we might answer in a future episode!