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Autism and Diagnostics and Research and Assumptions...
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I can certainly empathize with parents of autistic children who desperately want an answer to their children's affliction. However, jumping to conclusions, such as "clusters" or the (poorly) linked correlation between autism and child immunization shots, only hinders progress in unlocking the mystery behind how children become autistic.
It also hurts that autism is quickly becoming the fashionable Disease of the Moment, and I say this with absolutely no disrespect towards anyone who knows an autistic child or is the parent of one. There's plenty of evidence that autism is misdiagnosed, or overdiagnosed.
As RA said, we're still trying to figure these things out.
It also hurts that autism is quickly becoming the fashionable Disease of the Moment, and I say this with absolutely no disrespect towards anyone who knows an autistic child or is the parent of one. There's plenty of evidence that autism is misdiagnosed, or overdiagnosed.
As RA said, we're still trying to figure these things out.
I think the immunization thing is particularly sad. Since autism is barely observable let alone diagnosable before age 2, to say someone developed autism after they got shots as an infant makes no sense. Immunizations have saved billions of lives.
Yes, I agree, Gus...in my experience some seemed to want the immunization advocates and drug companies to be the evil villains who caused autism, and like you, I can empathize with parents who want answers and feel angry about their kids' diagnosis, but that doesn't mean immunization or pollution cause autism.
One thing that really fueled the autism debate was Jenny McCarthy's appearance on Oprah's show; McCarthy presented a lot of "evidence" that was really no more than theories that have been debunked or discredited by researchers and by autism research advocates. But since Oprah gave McCarthy a platform to promote her beliefs, misguided as they are, suddenly the whole notion that immunization directly causes autism took great root.
It's easy to blame it on one thing or another, and I think parents want and need something to blame, so that they can absolve themselves. I don't mean that in a bad way either, but I can't imagine the guilt of feeling like it was my fault that my child had a disability. There is also new information out that suggests a combination of environmental and genetic factors.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/ba...
i have always understood that autism has genetic causes. when i look at my own family that explanation makes sense, i probably got some of it too. the idea of autism-by-immunization i have always regarded as a very 'american' phenomenon. i understand it can be very difficult for parents to deal with a child with autism but, no offence to the americans, going to court has always seemed to me the 'american' way of solving problems. that's probably not how it works in reality, but i don't see this happening in a dutch court for example.
Gus: Autism is the new ADD/ADHD. Flavour of the month.
Yes, I agree there hasn't have to be "one" cause or even "one" autism, if you will. Regression analysis, if you will, can sometimes be a good idea...I'm not sure why I put "one" in quotes, but it seemed necessary at the time.
Matt, I agree. Remember when Crohn's disease, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, were suddenly on everyone's list? A little bit of a sleepless night, and suddenly you were struck with CFS.
Gus wrote: "Matt, I agree. Remember when Crohn's disease, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, were suddenly on everyone's list? A little bit of a sleepless night, and suddenly you were struck with CFS."Not to say that these aren't all serious, legitimate maladies from which people can find themselves suffering.
Agreed. Fear has a nasty way of making people think they've suddenly become afflicted with a disease that's in the spotlight.
I think we want answers too. Not knowing what's wrong with you can be as scary as knowing you have something awful.
The kids I see through my work have some pretty serious deficits due to autism. It may be somewhat overdiagnosed, but for the most part these are kids with real problems. ADHD & ADD seemed more like excuses to medicate inattentive and hyperactive kids instead of engage them. I'd be less inclined to say flavor of the month about autism - I think we have better and earlier methods of detection. And probably more cases due to the environmental factors.
There was a kid in my sister's grade - two years below me - all the way through primary school. He had all of the characteristics of Aspergers: flapping, weird outburts, mathematical aptitude (he was working four years ahead), social incompetence (he would drop his pants on the way to the bathroom). They just didn't have a designation for him at the time, so we just called him beyond weird and stayed out of his way. He might have been helped by social skills training or occupational therapy if someone had been able to call it a disability instead of an eccentricity.
Well, your first post was a good start, don't let our eccentricities scare you off.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...
There has been some speculation that particular settings and pollution may cause autism...and that "makes sense" from a very simple "if X is here it must cause Y" but just because a conclusion appears simple doesn't mean it's true. You add the emotional facet of autism, and parents wanting an answer, and you can see how that leap would be made. But the only correlation (and it's important to note that an autism "cause" is still not clear) is that the diagnosis of autism is more common in some places and with some people than in others.
I don't care how smart the human race may think we are, we're still figuring these things out.