Are you aware of the increase in Autism and Autism spectrum disorder?

more autistic people?, or more doctors diagnosing people with milder cases of it than we had before?

It is not merely better diagnosis .
Go to autismsociety.org or autismspeaks.org and see the statics.
There are environmental concerns and genetic .
I want to know if people are aware of the increase. Not argue why it is this way. I am aware of many different theories about why.

At my second job I care for three individuals with disabilities, one of them is Autistic. My organization is even now expanding our services to expand our outreach capabilities to include a specific Autism and autism spectrum disorder department. We cover ten counties and for now the therapist is building clientele but the goal is to have offices in every county and accessibility for everyone regardless of ability to pay.
One of the things discussed at meetings is the correctness of diagnoses. Our nurse has an autistic son and she is adamant about proper diagnosis.
She also says that it’s possible to have Asperger syndrome and not even know it. She’s convinced that one of our IT guys has it.

I really believe that the diagnosing and reporting are the only things increasing. Searching my family history, Asperger’s Syndrome and varieties of Autism have plagued us for centuries, but until 15 years ago, there was no diagnosis of this. Currently, there are two of us diagnosed with Aspergers, but I know of 6 other family members that are suspected of having it, but are not bothering to have it diagnosed. Then there are my father and grandfather, now dead, who were walking examples of severe autism spectrum disorders. The further back we look, the more, and higher percentage of examples we find of probable cases. But as they were not diagnosesd, or counted, it will appear that the incidence of these disorders is increasing, while it is actually decreasing in our family.

@Jewel
Don’t you think that environment plays a role ?
My Son is the only one in our family.

If I recall correctly, it can’t just be explained by the increasing awareness of Aspies.

There have been significant increases in those on the less functional end of the spectrum, those who would be classified as severe and likely unable to function independently in society.

Those with Aspergers have been undiagnosed in the past since they were able to earn a living and function within somewhat normal parameters.

But there has also been a huge rise in the numbers of those on the other end with severe impairments. That isn’t simply a matter of increased awareness as they have normally always been diagnosed around 3yrs. Old or so. THOSE numbers have increased exponentially.

@philosopher Not according to my family history. I believe that in the past, severe autism was written off as retardation, severe personality disorders or mental difficiency. Aspergers has often just been seen as an odd or eccentric personality.
100 years ago, in San Francisco, my grandmother had 2 sisters who lived on the top floor of their home and never left. They were called retarded and hidden away. No diagnosis was made by any doctor. People didn’t go to doctors often then. How many times might a wrong diagnosis been made? Even if they knew about Autism, which they didn’t.

@philosopher

There are multiple theories for causation, many of them environmental. Don Imus and his wife Deitdre are quite vocal about the environmental issues including vaccine preservatives, food additives, toxic cleaning compounds among others.

She especially has been instrumental in the movement to eliminate toxic cleaning compounds from pediatric wards treating children with cancer. She makes the point that these kids have enough of a battle fighting to live without loading their hospital with more toxic exposure.

It’s a very valid point since there are non toxic cleaning products available.

I think this is partly how they formed a kinship with folks from the Autism movement.

The Ranch where they have kids with cancer coming during vacation also only serves only natural organic vegetarian meals.

I forget which show it was (perhaps Dr. Oz) who interviewed an MD specializing in Autism and he felt that it was most likely several environmental toxins together since research has so far not pointed consistently to any one source ( such as the Thimeresol in vaccines) to the exclusion of anything else.

This makes sense to me as I’m more familiar with asthma and allergies, personally. And there is a “tipping point” where one allergen in isolation may not cause severe problems. But, there is a synergistic effect when several are present simultaneously.

I can easily envision a similar scenario for multiple environmental toxins (many of which are neuro-toxins) affecting a childs developing CNS.

I assumed a large part of it was overdiagnosis and just being able to detect it better on the spectrum.

I remember it being a huge fear of mine, because of the overly paranoid parents on parenting boards making me think everything my child did HAD to be done by a certain point…and the fact that you see the pediatrician every two months is quite ridiculous…but they gotta get those vaccines in! ~ Hopefully with this next baby we’ll feel less stressed about it.

Our neonatal unit at the hospital administered four vaccinations in the first 24 hours of our son’s birth, which had a total mercury exposure equivalent to 1150% the maximum allowable daily exposure for an adult by FDA standards…don’t get me started

@sndfreQ Four?! Which ones?? I know of the Hep B, and Vit K shot. The Vit K doesn’t bother me, but I’m on my second son and we circumcise so I feel it is quite necessary to get. They also do the eye ointment which is an antibiotic…I know a lot of mothers who refuse it.

@sndfreQ And how is your son?

We need to continue good research to evaluate proposed claims that certain routine vaccinations may contribute to increased incidence in autism and autism spectrum disorders.

If vaccinations can be made more safe, we should do so.

Before we encourage cautious parents to refuse vaccinations, we should consider the potential impact of having infants and children at risk for measles, mumps, and rubella, diseases that used to contribute dramatically to infant and child mortality.

As serious as @philosopher‘s concerns are, allowing killer diseases to reemerge in parts of the world where they have become almost unknown would be a catastrophic mistake.

One does not have to forsake vaccinations.

If you insist, you can get vaccines without the Thimeresol ( the name for the mercury preservative) even tho it is not routinely done.

Evidently it will be a bit more expensive because the Thimeresol is a preservative enabling purchase of multiple dose units at lower cost.

The other recommendation is to NOT do multiple vaccinations simultaneously but have them spread out over time singly.

Obviously, this makes the process less convenient but makes sense in terms of not overwhelming a childs system and avoiding a synergistic effect.

These are much better alternatives rather than the dangerous option of eliminating vaccinations altogether.

But these are the recommendations made by MDs who are aware of the possible connections to Autism.

But there are others who are going to be resistant to anything going against the status quo and may give parents a negative attitude about it.

But, if it were me I would be willing to swim against the tide and, if necessary, find another Doc who would understand these concerns and be willing to adjust as necessary.

Fortunately I’m not faced with that type of scenario, but that’s just my take on this fwiw.

@Buttonstc
I agree with you. I do things in moderation. We need more research. My Son is mid functioning Autistic. He is very bright and he does many things but; he is Child like in many ways. He will always need supervision. Unless research is done which can figure out what causes Autism. They are getting closer. They are mapping the Brain. A cure will be found.
I believe that the environment plays a role. I believe something is causing Human DNA to mutate and more children are being born Autistic. I blame poor education; and teachers untrained in ABA. I believe Thimersol pushes Toddlers in the work direction.
Buttonstic thank you.
I only want to make people aware of what Parents and Autistic people face. I do not wish do argue. No one who is not dealing with it; can really comprehend what I live with daily.
The Public schools in NYC and state still do not use ABA. I consider this Child abuse. Most of their students never speak. The high functioning Kids rarely reach their potential.
My Son was in an ABA school for the wealthy from four till eleven. He was throw out at eleven because they felt we were not donating enough to there funded program.
New York Child Learning Institute threw my Son out; but his current program is much better. I have to worry about when he finishes school. Teachers are being payed but Autistic Children do not make progress because they can not teach them appropriately.
I wish to inform everyone about how your taxes dollars are being wasted; and children are being mistreated in Public schools.

@Dr_Lawrence
I believe vaccines are necessary but should be spread out over a longer time period; and the mercury should be removed.
They denied all the Law Suits against the drug companies. They new the potential risk and I strongly disagree with this.
The H1N1 vaccine had Mercury this Year but my family was forced to take it. The risk for the H1N1 virus outweighed the other.
More money must be spent on research. Parents need answers.

@Buttonstc Yeah that’s just basically what we do. We still vaccinate, but just spread them out. I know some doctors think this is absolutely ridiculous, but I find it to be a great compromise.

@casheroo
You are correct and fortunate I wish I had known.

@philosopher I didn’t know with my first son, but we started delaying around a year old..and don’t do certain vaccines (like rotavirus and chicken pox…not because of mercury, but because we don’t feel the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks) It’s so difficult being a parent and making those sorts of decisions. I’m glad I have an open minded pediatrician who helps me along.