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U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

washingtonpost.com

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Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#21

Post by cbhl »

knewter wrote: post #4
cbhl wrote: post #2

> “It could be that doctors are getting better at identifying these children, there could be a growing number of children with high intelligence [who are autistic], or it could be both,” she said. The article doesn't mention that the DSM-5 went into force last year. The criteria for diagnosing Autism has changed since the DSM-IV, and this could also explain the jump in diagnoses. (This is alluded to with the line "Mi…

the numbers used in the report are from 2010

Ah, indeed they are, so this "jump" predates the introduction of the DSM-V. My mistake.

(wozniacki links to the original report in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7496264)

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#22

Post by fecak »

knewter wrote: post #4
cbhl wrote: post #2

> “It could be that doctors are getting better at identifying these children, there could be a growing number of children with high intelligence [who are autistic], or it could be both,” she said. The article doesn't mention that the DSM-5 went into force last year. The criteria for diagnosing Autism has changed since the DSM-IV, and this could also explain the jump in diagnoses. (This is alluded to with the line "Mi…

the numbers used in the report are from 2010

The numbers are from children born in a specific year, as the CDC has done with the last few studies, and have increased in each of the studies by a significant margin.

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#23

Post by mchanson »

insuffi wrote: post #7

Well, how about not diagnosing your kid with autism just because he's an uncontrollable little bastard, just to justify your bad parenting?(This includes ADD, ADHD, ASD). That should bring the stat down. Qualifier: not all obviously, but it has certainly become a way to remove personal responsibility as a parent.

That is a very ungenerous/unkind position that many folks take when they don't know WTF they are talking about.

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#24

Post by kylebgorman »

ausjke wrote: post #15

I read somewhere Silicon Valley has the highest Autism rate, it's likely high IQ gene made a difference too? Speaking from experience, early intervention is extremely effective.

What makes you think higher average IQ is associated with autism? (Rain Man doesn't count.)

The state with the highest reported rate of autism spectrum disorder is Utah, followed by New Jersey. The states with the lowest reported rates are in the Deep South (which is probably more about access to healthcare than actual prevalence).

Edit: added "average"

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#25

Post by mason240 »

cbhl wrote: post #2

> “It could be that doctors are getting better at identifying these children, there could be a growing number of children with high intelligence [who are autistic], or it could be both,” she said. The article doesn't mention that the DSM-5 went into force last year. The criteria for diagnosing Autism has changed since the DSM-IV, and this could also explain the jump in diagnoses. (This is alluded to with the line "Mi…

You comment hit on something that has been bothering me lately.

If in order to be informed I have to trawl through multiple news aggregators to find comments with primary sources and information closer to the source, weigh the potential bias of those commentors, analyze their citations, then what roles does journalism even serve? To me they seem to be nothing more than conversation starters, leaving individuals to spend hours a day doing the the legwork.

Being the gatekeeper of national dialogue is an incredibility powerful platform, and I guess to me part of the tradeoff for them wielding that power is that they (at bare minimum) do the legwork of giving accurate information and a complete picture.

I'm not saying I want journalists to do my thinking and analysis for me, but if they can't even accurately report basic information, what justifies their place in our society giving them that power?

With all the anti-science conspiracies floating around about the "rise" in Autism, not giving the context of the updated DSM leading to a broader scope of the disorder, this goes from being harmless negligence to actual harm.

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#26

Post by mrcactu5 »

could this be just a shift in how we measure and disagnose behaviors which lie outside the norm?

not long ago this behavior was not tolerated at all, and an autism diagnosis was undesirable. now we have more resources to identify and tolerate a broad range of behaviors

probably autism has not grown - it is as high (or low) as it has ever been. maybe we can identify autistic behaviors in figure of the past; maybe our own relatives.

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#27

Post by insuffi »

mchanson wrote: post #23
insuffi wrote: post #7

Well, how about not diagnosing your kid with autism just because he's an uncontrollable little bastard, just to justify your bad parenting?(This includes ADD, ADHD, ASD). That should bring the stat down. Qualifier: not all obviously, but it has certainly become a way to remove personal responsibility as a parent.

That is a very ungenerous/unkind position that many folks take when they don't know WTF they are talking about.

Right. Care to share the scientific details of how ASD/ADHD/ADD is classified, since you're such an expert?

Abnormalities in a kid do not instantly indicate a disorder. Yet doctors are quick to prescribe adderall to the first person that comes in their office and claims they have "trouble concentrating".

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#28

Post by tdaltonc »

cbhl wrote: post #2

> “It could be that doctors are getting better at identifying these children, there could be a growing number of children with high intelligence [who are autistic], or it could be both,” she said. The article doesn't mention that the DSM-5 went into force last year. The criteria for diagnosing Autism has changed since the DSM-IV, and this could also explain the jump in diagnoses. (This is alluded to with the line "Mi…

Autism isn't my field. But the Autism epidemiologists I've spoken to all think that in addition to those two trends ((1) better coverage, and (2) Shifting diagnostic baseline) there is still a underlying increase in symptom frequency and severity.

Re: U.S. autism rate surges, CDC reports (1 in 68)

#29

Post by kylebgorman »

Spooky23 wrote: post #16

Autism is the new ADHD. If 1 and 70 kids have a disorder that wasn't a thing 20 years ago, something is wrong. I had some speech issues when I was a kid that led to shyness and difficulty making friends until I got a bit older. I'm sure that I would have been classified in the spectrum on today's standards. It's a hot diagnosis.

Not a psychiatrist, just a researcher, but you can't get a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder without a second cluster of symptoms related to repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Shyness and speech/language problems not enough. (It is understood that many children with specific language impairment, a separate condition, have problems with socialization early on.)
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