On Oct. , 2009 the department of health and human services released a report about how the autism rate in the U.S. had a drastic increase. The previous estimate was 1 in 150 children had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the current rate for children with ASD is 1 in 100. This the report which appeared in American Academy of Pediatrics Journal showed that the rate for boys is a shocking 1 in 58. According to this article one reason this sudden increase could have happened is because the autism spectrum has grown to include the Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome and all compassing PDD-NOS or persuasive development Disorder. One issue with autism is no one really knows the cause of it. One reason that has not been scientifically proven is children living near toxic waste. Another is toxic synergy in food and consumers products that become toxic after being heated or combined. According to Mitochondrial expert Salvatore DiMauro of Columbia University, "Autism is probably caused by many things, most of them genetic, and [link between autism and certain metabolic diseases] is one of them."
Even though there is not a cure or knowing cause a new device that has hit the market to offer parents a way to detect autism and analyze speech patterns in 2-4 years old. The with this according to Dr. Susan Anderson, director of the autism clinic at the University of Virginia children's hospital, autism " is also a disorder of social development and interacting skills, and a disorder which includes a typical behavior. Any means of screening for autism needs to include all of these measures." This article talks about possible causes and cures of ASD and different assumptions on why the number of children with ASD has been increasing, but one thing that still remains a question is " Are more kids being misdiagnosed with ASD in an attempt to explain their no quite perfect behavior?
http://www.boston.com/community/moms/blogs/child_caring/2009/10/higher_autism_rates_awareness_cant_be_the_only_reason.html?s_campaign=8315
The fact that autism has increased from 1 in 150 to 1 in 100 does not surprise me at all. Even though autism is heritable, I feel that inability to deal with bad behavior and the ease of diagnosis are the some of the causes for this increase. The reason why I believe this is because my nephew has recently been diagnosed with ADD and possibly autism at the age of four. He is behind in speech and shows serveral of the signs of ADD including erratic behavior and a short attention span. I have watched him grow up and have noticed these signs. However, these signs are typical of kids who believe they can get their own way. My uncle refuses to punish him when he acts up. By punish I mean clearly saying "no" and giving "time outs." Instead, he leaves family get togethers early and lets his child act up inside his own home where it will not bother anyone else. I feel that if he would let his child know that he needs to follow rules and behave, he wouldn't be diagnosed with ADD. Rather than intervening while he still could, my uncle took him to the doctor in hopes that the diagnosis of ADD would explain the bad behavior. I believe parents have a lot of control in the diagnosis of ADD. Society has started to fall back on this diagnosis and rely on drugs to cure "bad behaviors."
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