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"Expansion of the diagnosis to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the DSM-5 might explain some of the difference in the number of children diagnosed with the disorder. But the widened criteria does [sic] not explain such an immense increase."
The widened criteria are only one factor. See here for a discussion of others.
"One camp holds that the cause of autism is genetic. This group says that autism is a genetic condition, something like Down syndrome. However, despite decades of intensive research, no “autism gene” or combination of autism genes has yet been discovered. Nonetheless, this camp holds that autism is a condition that a child will have forever. It can be managed but it cannot be cured."
No one claims that autism is "something like Down syndrome," which is caused by an extra chromosome. There are indeed genes associated with autism, many of them, with more being added all the time.
If anyone claims to be able to "cure" autism, he is lying.
"The second camp argues that the causes of autism are mainly environmental, though some genetic factors may play a role. They believe that environmental triggers like pesticides, certain foods, allergens, vaccines, and even stress can trigger an immune reaction in the child’s body which impacts the brain and can cause symptoms of autism."
Vaccines do not cause autism. That notion needs to be given up. If there are environmental triggers they would have to function in utero, and no single such trigger has been identified.
"The environmental cause camp has a diverse constituency. It includes functional medicine doctors like Mark Hymen [sic], MD and Amy Meyers, MD."
If autism could be treated with diet and supplements, then everyone would be treating autism with diet and supplements.
The author then discusses J. B Handley, who is notoriously anti-vax, and presents two anti-vax myths as if they are facts:
"First, the number of vaccinations that a child receives before the age of five has increased dramatically. "
Vaccines do not cause autism. There is no correlation between autism and any vaccine, any combination of vaccines, or the number of vaccines.
"Secondly, vaccines are exempt from the rigorous safety testing required by the FDA for all other drugs."
This one is an outright lie. Safety testing for vaccines is more stringent than for any other drug, specifically because they are meant to be given to healthy people, including children. There are systems in place to continuously monitor vaccine safety.
The author concludes that treating people with autism with diet can do no harm. It can if the diet has not been shown to work - and anecdotes do not count. It can be expensive (Handley sells supplements) and it can give parents false hope.
Finally, the article is an example of the logical fallacy of false equivalence, lending equal weight to both "sides" of a discussion even when one side (the anti-vax position) does not have scientific evidence to support it. In fact, she lends more weight to the anti-vax "side."
She is also against medicating children for anything, including ADD, and has written a book in which she presents family therapy as a cureall.
The author is not an expert on autism.
Last edited by suzy_q2010; 10-19-2018 at 06:41 PM..
As far as peanut allergies go, we cured our older son's allergy by slow exposure to peanuts over a period of years. By the time he was 9 he was cured. I think he got the allergy to begin with because we listened to his doctor who said you shouldn't introduce peanuts to a child until it reaches 2 years old. We introduced peanuts to our other children as soon as they were old enough to handle a dollop of peanut butter. Neither one ended up with an allergy, but one of them ended up being autistic. I've yet to hear a connection between autism and peanuts though.
I never made such a connection. I said some studies were looking at a possible link between the dramatic rise in the number and severity of peanut allergies with specific pesticides used on peanuts.
We are but you're not...this thread is about autism. Why did you put your $.02 in about how autistic kids are drugged, and give as an example hyperactive children?
Because they were diagnosed as autistic and that is the topic of this thread. My contention is that they aren't actually autistic but just hyperactive and therefore should not be labeled as autistic. They were prescribed medications as I have mentioned repeatedly which is common for autistic children. I provided a link to the autism science foundation which provides detailed information on why drugs are often prescribed.
I swear some of you must be adhd or something. You just want to pop off smart remarks without having read the posts and followed along. I am out.
Because they were diagnosed as autistic and that is the topic of this thread. My contention is that they aren't actually autistic but just hyperactive and therefore should not be labeled as autistic. They were prescribed medications as I have mentioned repeatedly which is common for autistic children. I provided a link to the autism science foundation which provides detailed information on why drugs are often prescribed.
I swear some of you must be adhd or something. You just want to pop off smart remarks without having read the posts and followed along. I am out.
Hyperactivity is NOT a feature of autism, you’re thinking of ADHD. When the rest of the kids are running and playing, the autistic child would more likely be sitting in a corner arranging toy cars in a pattern for hours. Maybe what you thought were drugged up kids were just kids behaving as autistic kids do. Medication is not common for autism treatment. You’re just wrong, sorry.
Agreed. Another piece of misinformation that the article states:
"First, the number of vaccinations that a child receives before the age of five has increased dramatically. In 1983, a child following the CDC’s recommended schedule would have received five vaccines by age five. In 2017, a child following the CDC’s schedule would have received thirty-eight vaccines by age five. This is nearly quadruple what a child received in the 1980's."
In 2013 the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health published information regarding the possibility of chemicals being one of the causes of autism. They wrote of chemicals used in foods and in the manufacturing of fragrances used in a multitude of products: detergent, fabric softener, bath soap, candles, room spray, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, dish soap, hair spray, etc., any product containing the chemicals used to produce a fragrance. These products are ingested through the skin and the respiratory system. Even those who wear colognes/perfumes, etc., contribute since all fragrance/odor/smell is made up of particulates (small molecules which are gases) that are ingested by those in close proximity.
Because they were diagnosed as autistic and that is the topic of this thread. My contention is that they aren't actually autistic but just hyperactive and therefore should not be labeled as autistic. They were prescribed medications as I have mentioned repeatedly which is common for autistic children. I provided a link to the autism science foundation which provides detailed information on why drugs are often prescribed.
I swear some of you must be adhd or something. You just want to pop off smart remarks without having read the posts and followed along. I am out.
No. The link you provided supported what I said before: it listed medication for only some features, which only some autistic people will have as a comorbid condition, and it listed those as a *last* possible course of action for a *subset* of autistic people. Non-drug therapies were heavily underscored as the *best* course of action.
Nobody needs an ASD DX in order to be medicated for hyperactivity. What they need is a hyperactivity DX. MANY autistic people are NOT hyperactive.
There is *no* known drug “for” autism specifically. None. About thto same percentage of autistic people will have ADD or ADHD as the general population. Drugs are *never* the first course of action “for” autism. Non-drug therapies are. Autism is not over-DXd in order to be able to give children drugs. You are simply wrong.
Can somebody help me explain? I don't want to bungle this & I don't have enough faith in myself to do it right.
Don't go anywhere, JerZ & I'll do my best to communicate as to why that link made me so happy that I rambled incoherently . It's possible that although we are both caregiving parents of an autistic child; that our perceptions of this discussion could be very different, based on where our kids are on that spectrum.
Until I saw this thread yesterday: Autism (like every day) was winning. It had me on the ground with its boot crushing my throat but yesterday was extra special:
It was DAY NINE out of the Ten Days; that the state of Colorado allows for a public school district to suspend a student before they are allowed to expel them.
My severely disabled, autistic son, who cannot use a toilet by himself or cross a street without "two-hands on" will likely be expelled from school before the end of the month; because nobody understands the manifestation of the diagnosis of Autism. Not our doctors. Not our teachers. Not even me; most days.
Do you know why nobody understands? Humor me:
Open a new tab to Google. Type: "why is the autism rate rising" in the search bar. Everyone will have slightly different results based on your daily search activity but may I ask: Do you see that article we are discussing on page 1 of search results from "Psychology Today", dated October 15, 2018 (I see one article from May 2018 from Psychology Today. It's #7 for me. I'll get back to that in a sec)?
Now; what else do you see? Here are my results:
1. The Real Reasons Autism Rates Are Up in the U.S. - Scientific American. Mar 2, 2017
2. Autism: Cases on the Rise; Reason for Increase a Mystery - WebMD Mar 28, 2008
3. Autism Rate Increases: The Reasons - Healthline May 1, 2018 - Here's the Big Reason That Autism Rates Have Increased Again ... rather than a de facto rise in the number of children who have ASD
4. What's Behind the Recent Rise in Autism in the US? - Live Science Apr 26, 2018
5. The autism rate is on the rise, CDC says. Here's what that actually ...Apr 27, 2018
6. Autism: Why the rise in rates? | The Journal of Family Practice - MDedge Our improved understanding of the disorder
7. (above)
8. The Complicated Reasons Autism Rates Are Still on the Rise - The Cut Apr 27, 2018
9. Yes, Autism Rates Are Rising. No, That Doesn't Mean More People ...Apr 27, 2018
10. New Data: Autism Rate Increasing in the US | Everyday Health May 1, 2018.
Number 10 is the only result that hasn't (yet) alluded to either; "We have no clue about anything because autism is a huge mystery!" Or "When the rate of autism rises; it doesn't mean that the rate of autism is actually rising!"
Unfortunately, this is not an accident & it's not a coincidence. This site we are on right now has been mitigated for online searches because they allow us to discuss the issue.
So most people saw a thread with a link to an online article. I saw the face of God.
The answers eventually may be found through more epigenetics research.
Genetic expressions are altered without changing DNA sequence. Factors that modify genetic expressions include environmental, diet, lifestyle, etc.
People have bashed me mercilessly for having this opinion, but I truly believe the incidence of autism hasn't increased, the incidence of diagnosis has increased, along with helicopter parenting, in which any little social glitch in a child's behavior is viewed as evidence of a horrible abnormality. I'm not saying autism isn't real. It certainly is, but I believe it is overdiagnosed.
^^^^This
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. It's possible that although we are both caregiving parents of an autistic child; that our perceptions of this discussion could be very different, based on where our kids are on that spectrum.
