Summary: The Increase Of Autism Spectrum Disorders

People in today’s society hear more about autism and its prevalence in school systems than they did ten years ago. A study was done between 2002 and 2006 in the state of New Jersey to determine whether or not autism was becoming more and more prevalent. “For 2006, a total of 533 children with autism spectrum disorder were identified, consistent with prevalence of 17.4 per 1000, indicating a significant increase in the disorder from 2002 where the prevalence was

The article “Autism Is a Serious Public Health Crisis” is presented in manner intended to generate a shock reaction in its selective audience. It does this by using scare tactics and repetitious trigger words such as lies, epidemic and crisis. Though this piece is intended to be informative about the autism crisis and the author’s perception of the truth behind its cause, the argument ultimately is one based in ignorance and heavily driven by pathos.

While genes play a role in the development or triggering of autism, they do not occupy the entire picture. Many other factors, termed as “environmental factors”, also play a significant role in the early development of autism. What the term “environmental” includes may be debatable. What falls into the category of environmental factors must be identified in order to prevent misleading pretenses. Throughout the research of autism, the word “environmental” refers to any influence beyond

Diagnoses of autism have increased rapidly over the last ten years, and continue to do so, making affordable and effective treatment for the developmental disorder crucial. Statistics report that “about 1% of the world is on the Autism Spectrum; prevalence in the US is about 1/68 births, prevalence

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more children are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders than ever before (Allman, 2010, p. 25).

With the rate of autism being diagnosed on the rise, the amount of research and interest in the disorder has risen as well. Some research suggests that over the past two decades the occurrence of autism has increased from approximately 2-5 per 10,000 births to about 1-5 per 1,000 births (Acosta & Pearl, 2004; Fatemi et al., 2012). Still others report that the occurrence is as high as 1 in 150 kids (Amaral, Schumann, & Nordhal, 2008). Even though the spectrum of autistic disorders has been studied since 1943, there have still not been any consistent nor persuasive causes or markers, either biological or clinical, identified with autism and its range of disorders (Santangelo & Tsatsanis, 2005). In fact, even with all of the advancements in genetic research technology and the increasing interest in autism, researchers can still only account for approximately 5-15% of autistic cases (Rogers et al., 2013).

It is thought that autism has been prevalent throughout history and due to a relaxing of the diagnostic criteria an opportunity has risen for milder cases to be recognized, meaning more individuals are diagnosed with ASD. Because of the accessibility of media in the 21st century individuals are being bombarded with ideas and claims about autism which lack of evidence and research into the topic. Much of the evidence that is commonly used to create hype about the ‘autism epidemic’ is unjustified and ironically supports the idea that a broader criterion results in a higher diagnosis rate. Many people claim that autism is caused my the MMR vaccine and that is why there is an ‘epidemic’ occurring. However, substantiated research contradicts that

The autism spectrum disorder is neurobehavioral deterioration that involves language developmental disorder combined with low social interaction skills and repetitive behaviors. The severity of the disorder varies from mild, moderate, and severe, and the diagnosis tends to be changeable according to several factors such as the severity and the kind of therapy that the child received during early years. There is an increased prevalence of the disorder among children within the last decade. “More recent estimates range from about 30 in 10,000 to one in 68.refrences to an autism epidemic appear to have originated in a 2002 California legislative report suggesting a 273% increase

Autism has been considered the disease of the 21st century for its high rate of incidence in our infantile population. However, many people wonder if it is really a new disease or an old undisclosed illness misjudged until present by health.

One of the most studied is the idea of environmental issues causing Autism. Several metals, such as mercury, lead, chromium and aluminum have been linked to cases of Autism around the world (Mohamed, et al. U.S. National Library of Medicine) An unfortunate side effect of these findings was the spread of misunderstanding of the ways that these environmental factors come into play with Autism sufferers and led to the rise of individuals becoming concerned about links between vaccines and Autism. While these links have since been debunked, they still are present and detract from actual research in the environmental causes of Autism. Once the baseless speculation and confusion on what are and are not environmental issues that can cause Autism are more widely published and have a greater acceptance, scientists can focus on testing and experimentation on what we can do to either nullify or remove harmful environmental factors. However, the idea of removing these heavy metals has worked in some individuals with autism, but the success rate varies from case to case. (McCandless

Despite its 50 year-old diagnosis, autism is still one of the mostly commonly contracted and rarely treated childhood diseases. Studies suggest that as many as 1 in 500 children may display autistic symptoms. Manifestations of this disability include the stereotypical physical contortions and hand-flapping motions commonly associated with autism, as well as inability to relate to the outside world, limited social skills, lack of concentration, and hypersensitivity to certain stimuli-particularly noise (1). Perceived causes include poor fetal development, genetics, allergies, and a lack of crucial enzymes. Because for many years the disorder was thought to be a result of poor

Autism, like schizophrenia and mood disorders, includes many syndromes (Insel 2). Indeed, we should probably speak of the "autisms." Some of these autism's are single gene disorders, such as Fragile X, tuberous sclerosis, and Rett syndrome (Insel 3). While these rare genetic disorders account for less than 5 percent of children within the autism spectrum, children with any of these disorders are at high risk for autism, roughly a 30-fold higher risk than the general population and higher than any of the other known risk factors (Insel 3). Recent genomics research has discovered that many children diagnosed within the autism spectrum have other genetic mutations that have not yet been designated as named syndromes (Insel 4). Each of these mutations is rare, but in aggregate they may account for 10-20 percent or more of what we have been calling the autisms. Genetics will not identify the environmental factors, but it may reveal some of the many syndromes within the autism spectrum (as in other neurodevelopmental disorders), it can define risk (as in other medical disorders), and it should yield clues to the biology of autism (revealing potential targets for new treatments). In parallel we need to find environmental factors, recognizing that there will be many causes for the autisms and many roads to find them (Insel 3). Finally, an unavoidable insight from these new papers is that autism even when genetic may be

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is about 1 in every 68 American children who are on the autism spectrum. This is a ten-fold rise in prevalence for 40 years. This increase has been elaborated by the explained by improved and arising diagnosis and awareness of the condition. Further, a study reveals that 1 out of 42 boys is autistic in the United States whereas for the girls it’s 1 in 189. According to the National Center for Health Center for Health Statistics report, between the ages 3 to 17, children diagnosed with autism rose by about 80 % in the year 2014 more than it was previously as recorded in 2011 to 2013. A writer of the Washington post reported that the health officials were alarmed by the research that the prevalence rate is at 1 in every 45 children in

Tens of millions of people have been diagnosed with Autism worldwide, effecting both genders, all races, ethnicities and people from all socioeconomic classes. In 2010 a Surveillance Summary was conducted in the United States, where it identified that one in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). It has been recognised

In 2011, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that on average, 1 in 10 children each year are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (Hunt & Marshall, 2012, p. 304). However, the number of children diagnosed with autism in recent years is