Does anyone know why there's such an autism outbreak in the US.

Hardly a week goes by without some article or headline about autism screening for children, treatment, etc.

Is this just in the US, or all over the world? whats going on?

And if it's just in America, why?

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

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Originally posted by HardTranceProd Does anyone know why there's such an autism outbreak in the US.

Nope, nobody does.

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Hardly a week goes by without some article or headline about autism screening for children, treatment, etc.

I think that has more to do with the recent attention drawn to it by the thimerosal rabble-rousers than any increase in prevalence (though there is considerable, if not flawless, evidence of an increase in prevalence.)

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Is this just in the US, or all over the world? whats going on?

Not enough countries report statistics on the prevalence of autism to be sure if it's a worldwide phenomenon. Those countries that do report them do all show upward trends as far as I've seen, but they are hardly representative of the world as a whole, and furthermore, diagnostic criteria for autism are not a constant in these calculations...

Overall, our understanding of the disorder and those like it is poor, and it will probably remain so until we have the information to analyze it from a top-down (biological, functional) perspective instead of a bottom-up (clinical, anecdotal).

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Originally posted by Arbiter Nope, nobody does. I think that has more to do with the recent attention drawn to it by the thimerosal rabble-rousers than any increase in prevalence (though there is considerable, if not flawless, evidence of an increase in prevalence.) Not enough countries report statistics on the prevalence of autism to be sure if it's a worldwide phenomenon. Those countries that do report them do all show upward trends as far as I've seen, but they are hardly representative of the world as a whole, and furthermore, diagnostic criteria for autism are not a constant in these calculations... Overall, our understanding of the disorder and those like it is poor, and it will probably remain so until we have the information to analyze it from a top-down (biological, functional) perspective instead of a bottom-up (clinical, anecdotal).

haha. LOL Arbiter, you sound a little autistic yourself. Are you?

But on a more serious note, I don't understand what is meant by this:

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Overall, our understanding of the disorder and those like it is poor, and it will probably remain so until we have the information to analyze it from a top-down (biological, functional) perspective instead of a bottom-up (clinical, anecdotal).

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

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Originally posted by HardTranceProd haha. LOL Arbiter, you sound a little autistic yourself. Are you?

Definitely not; in many ways I'm completely the opposite.

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But on a more serious note, I don't understand what is meant by this [...]

Since autism is a disorder of the brain, understanding it requires first an understanding of the proper order of the brain. Although there are many neurological theories about what may cause autism, the reality is that until we have a better understanding of the normal functionality of the brain as a whole, our ability to understand this type of brain disorder will be necessarily limited.

Instead, much of the research into autism has been done through case studies and clinical research: basically looking at an individual or group of individuals with autism, analyzing their behavior, common traits, et cetera. This type of research is not useless, but I don't believe it will ever lead us to a sufficient understanding of the disorder to discover the cause or create an effective means of prevention. For that, we will have to wait for science to advance our understanding of the human brain, which will at some point make it possible for us to understand autism by, basically, observing the difference in functionality between an autistic brain and a normal brain.

Autism is up huge in Canada as well.

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Originally posted by HardTranceProd haha. LOL Arbiter, you sound a little autistic yourself. Are you?

Far from it IMO.

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"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

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Originally posted by HardTranceProd And if it's just in America, why?

Dysfuncitonal families and crapy parenting perhaps? Just a thought...

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

Go check the thread Mag bumped, theres quite a bit of information there. Most pointing to autism NOT being related to vaccines.

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Poetry>Byron//Blog>TheMean

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Orbax At that point you kind of crossed the rubicon and you might as well lay siege to Rome

autism cases have increased due to the fact that women and men are waiting longer to have kids. well, its just a correlation.

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Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On OOKA-OOKA ME NACHOS ME PRESS KEYS ON COMPUTER GOOD

To put it simply... cases of autism have increased because our understanding of the disorder has increased as has our ability to diagnose it. The difference between now and 25 years ago is that more doctors and people in general recognize the symptoms, get the child to the appropriate expert, and have the disorder properly diagnosed. I should also point out that a diagnosis of autism now can be made not only for acutal autism but for a number of undefined behavioural problems that present in a similar fashion but may or may not be caused by a similar brain dysfunction. So, more people tested and broader diagnostic criteria = more cases.
/thread

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Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down

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Originally posted by nchs09 autism cases have increased due to the fact that women and men are waiting longer to have kids. well, its just a correlation.

The correlation is coincidental... countries in which people are waiting longer to have children also have a better established medical system with more access to persons properly qualified to diagnose and or treat autism.

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Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down

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Originally posted by shaolin_Z Dysfuncitonal families and crapy parenting perhaps? Just a thought...

autism is a genetic disorder, has nothing to do with parenting

oh by the way, American parents are far more attentive and "helicopter"-type than in many other places, where children just grow up by themselves

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."