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I don't think anyone said it was "new"; I'm saying it's either diagnosed MUCH more frequently now (accurately or not) or is MUCH more common than it used to be...
I remember reading "Son Rise" as a teenager and noting then what a rarity it was.
Experts say the bulk of the increase stems from a growing awareness of autism and changes to the condition’s diagnostic criteria.
How has autism prevalence changed over time?
The latest estimate of autism prevalence—1 in 68—is up 30 percent from the 1 in 88 rate reported in 2008, and more than double the 1 in 150 rate in 2000. In fact, the trend has been steeply upward since the early 1990s, not only in the U.S. but globally, says Maureen Durkin, who heads the network site in Wisconsin.
Has the rising awareness of autism contributed to the prevalence?
Increased awareness of autism has undoubtedly contributed to its rise in prevalence, Durkin says.
Until the 1980s, many people with autism were institutionalized, rendering them effectively invisible. Studies show that parents who are aware of autism’s presentation—by living near someone with the condition, for example—aremore likely to seek a diagnosis for their children than parents with no knowledge of the condition. Living close to urban centers and having access to good medical care also boost the likelihood of diagnosis.
Greater awareness of autism is also likely to boost CDC estimates by increasing the chances that autism traits, such as lack of eye contact, show up in school and medical records, says Fombonne.
Policy changes may have also played a role. In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening all children for autism during routine pediatrician visits at 18 and 24 months of age. This move may have led to diagnoses for children who would otherwise have slipped under the radar.
Is there no real increase in autism rates, then?
Awareness and changing criteria probably account for the bulk of the rise in prevalence, but biological factors might also contribute, says Durkin. For example, having older parents, particularly an older father, may boost the risk of autism. Children born prematurely also are at increased risk of autism, and more premature infants survive now than ever before.
It's definitely not new. I'm 68 and I remember a boy in 4th grade who would sit in his desk chair and rock all day. No one did anything to help him. There was no special Ed. He was just considered a weird kid. No idea what happened to him since we moved and I went to a different school after that year.
+1. I’m in my late 40s, and remember two boys in my classroom who were autistic; it was a a small, rural area, in an era where there were no self-contained classrooms for such children. Turns out there was a third child in that class with autism: me. Only I wasn’t diagnosed until decades later because up until maybe 10 years ago, the diagnostic criteria was mainly based on autism characteristics in young boys; it wasn’t really understood until fairly recently that autism often presents differently in girls.
And so, many of us who were excluded under the older criteria went on to have children of our own who are on the spectrum; we were there all along, but just not yet included in the statistics.
OP: toddlers are quirky, obstinate little creatures. However, with regards to autism, clinicians look for the presence of global developmental and social delays, in addition to sensory-processing issues. My sons are both on the spectrum, but presented very differently at that age: one was extremely fussy about clothing etc (he took to turning his clothes and socks inside out, so no seams could touch him), who the other wasn’t the slightest bit bothered. It doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for developmental red flags and possibly qualify for Early Intervention, but in my experience, clinicians are [rightfully] hesitant to issue a diagnosis before age 3, unless the child is showing profound delays.
Get an evaluation. It can't hurt and it's probably a free service provided by your local social services.
I disagree. The child may already be ‘hurt’ via the parents jaded view of him. An evaluation will either ‘justify’ the currently held view and amplify it, or more likely, point out that a 2 year old is a 2 year old and then what will the parents come up with next?
I disagree. The child may already be ‘hurt’ via the parents jaded view of him. An evaluation will either ‘justify’ the currently held view and amplify it, or more likely, point out that a 2 year old is a 2 year old and then what will the parents come up with next?
The child could also be hurt by an erroneous diagnosis that labels and pigeonholes him for life. I think too many adults are making too much of a profit off this "industry." Two is too young to diagnose autism, anyway.
The child could also be hurt by an erroneous diagnosis that labels and pigeonholes him for life. I think too many adults are making too much of a profit off this "industry." Two is too young to diagnose autism, anyway.
No, 2 is not too young to dx autism.
Diagnosing ASD can be difficult since there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. Doctors look at the child’s behavior and development to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger. By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable.1 However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until they are much older. Some people are not diagnosed until they are adolescents or adults. This delay means that people with ASD might not get the early help they need.
Milestone checklist
What most children do by this age:
Social/Emotional Milestones
Notices when others are hurt or upset, like pausing or looking sad when someone is crying
Looks at your face to see how to react in a new situation
Language/Communication Milestones
Points to things in a book when you ask, like “Where is the bear?”
Says at least two words together, like “More milk.”
Points to at least two body parts when you ask him to show you
Uses more gestures than just waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding yes
Cognitive Milestones (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
Holds something in one hand while using the other hand; for example, holding a container and taking the lid off
Tries to use switches, knobs, or buttons on a toy
Plays with more than one toy at the same time, like putting toy food on a toy plate
Movement/Physical Development Milestones
Kicks a ball
Runs
Walks (not climbs) up a few stairs with or without help
Eats with a spoon
Autism, normal two year old's development, obsessive phase, or obsessive-compulsive disorder?
According to my Home Adviser reference book, If your nephew shows all four of these signs for a degree of Autism then it is a matter of consulting your doctor for an assessment by a specialist: 1) avoids eye contact; 2) has repetitive behaviours; 3) demonstrates poor language skills; and 4) relating to other people is a difficulty.
According to my psychology reference book, autistic children tend to call themselves 'you' because they simply copy what they have heard others call them, and they call others 'I' similarly. They are not able to reverse these pronouns. Is this the case with your nephew, or does he have some understanding of the rules and principles of language? If he does have the basic language understanding of a two year old, then his behaviour is probably just a bit obsessive, as he is excited about learning about the world and new words. From 9-18 months children repeat phonemes (units of sound) like 'mamamama,' 'babababa,' experimenting with language, at this time their first words appear. From 18 months to two and a half years children practice two word phrases, like 'allgone milk.' Then from two and a half they develop their rules of grammar. So language repetition is expected around his age of two.
Furthermore, from around two years of age children like to play alone, this is called 'solitary play,' and happens in settings like daycare with strange people, but he should be more outgoing at home enjoying playing with others more.
People do have a tendency to learn medical terms and fit other people's behaviour to those terms with their perception, which you and his mother may be doing to some degree with your nephew.
Your nephew may just be going through an obsessive phase, excited about learning new ideas, and wants things to be right, after all it would be uncomfortable to have twisted socks. Unless you think it is more serious than that, developing into an obsessive-compulsive disorder, defined by a dictionary as: 'A mental disorder characterized by an obsessive compulsion to repeatedly perform trivial or meaningless actions.'
From what you have told me your nephew appears to have a relatively normal two year old's development, as you say: 'growing up,' but there may be some obsessive-compulsive disorder developing. However, you see a more complete picture, and you yourself must choose between, autism, normal two year old development, an obsessive phase, or a developing obsessive-compulsive disorder, which if it gets serious enough you may consult the doctor for psychological therapies, but not medication. I wish you all the best!
Usually a parent should trust their gut on this. If his mom thinks that her son should be evaluated then he should be evaluated.
That said, there is nothing that you've described that doesn't sound like "2" to me. One of my kids had a phase where he only wanted to wear his bright yellow rain boots everywhere - rain or shine he had to have those "firefighter" boots on or it was a no go for him. So, to keep the peace, I put those firefighter boots on him until he finally outgrew the need to wear them.
The same kid used to be really sensitive to noises to the point where it seemed that he might have had some sort of sensory issues. Maybe he did. All I can say is that he outgrew that by the time he was 3 or 4. He went on to teach himself how to read music and learned how to play musical instruments and participated in concerts. As a teenager I knew when he arrived home because I could hear the music playing on his car radio from inside of the house.
A lot of times the stuff that you see in a 2 year old is simply them asserting themselves before their vocabulary has developed. Once they can express themselves verbally, they become a bit more reasonable.
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