The increase in autism cases may be a statistical anomaly caused by doctors purposely mis-diagnosing patients with developmental disabilities as autistic in order to get access to state funding available to autism patients.
Quote:
In every state, our scary autism epidemic fuels walkathons, awareness events, and a proliferation of local chapters of national autism organizations. And across the country, concerned parents whose children aren’t keeping up or seem troublingly different, turn to medical professionals and early childhood educators for evaluation and help. The problems are real.
But what if the autism statistics are wrong?
In 1987, the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) began broadening the definition of autism to include not only children for whom socialization is impossible, but also those with varying levels of ability to interact and function. What was once a devastating affliction known simply as “autism” evolved into a “spectrum” of disorders, encompassing everything from profound impairment to far milder challenges. Naturally, this more expansive definition of autism partly explains the exponential increase in diagnoses in recent years.
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It appears the numbers are probably grossly overblown. I wonder what Jenny and Jim have to say now?
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910u/autism-diagnoses