Quote:
Originally Posted by AcGold
are rates really climbing that much? Is it being caused by something in society, multiple factors or a misdiagnosis?
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It has been suggested that a large factor in the increased prevalence of autism are changes in how it is diagnosed. Formerly, some kids were diagnosed with mental ######ation (what a terrible term) but now fall within the autism spectrum. Not to mention that there is generally a better understanding of what autism is, which probably leads to more diagnoses. The kid who was poor at communicating might now be autistic.
This doesn't rule out something environmental, of course, but it does explain at least some of the increase.
A brief snippet:
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/5/1224.short