In the past few decades, the rates of Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) have skyrocketed. With this increase, however, there has been little explanation, in turn resulting in massive amounts of speculation regarding the cause. Whether it be a man looking for attention, persons personally affected by the disorder, or the scientific community, a wide variety of conclusions have been made. These various speculators have come to differing conclusions, many proving to be attributing factors in some way.
I myself am one of the many whom are personally affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since birth, I’ve grown up with an older brother who suffers from a severe case of Autism. He cannot talk or hold direct eye contact, nor can he feed or bathe himself- he is physically a twenty year old with the mind of a one year old child. To say that i wouldn't change anything would be to lie; I often look up and ask whatever or whomever runs the universe why this life had to be put upon my brother. I see the spark in his eye and the gleam of his smile when he hears the punch line or one of his favorite phrases: “bananas” or “I love you Erik.”
My mom claims that as a mere infant he showed some signs but nothing dramatic, he also suffered from severe epilepsy. She is confident in her mother’s intuition that it was as soon as he received the vaccine to mediate his seizing that his place on the autism spectrum dramatically increased. She claims to have seen a somewhat glaze coat his eyes. It is due to this that I even at one point believed in some of the conspiracies that will be mentioned later.
However, over time we’ve found different things have peaked his activity and cognition. Often after road trips involving physical labor and socializing with strangers, he seemed to be more attentive. After getting him involved in a specialized horse riding club his strength and walking abilities have increased greatly. Most surprisingly would be the affect a diet change has had on him. My mom switched to a raw vegan diet for health reasons and decided to try implementing these patterns into Erik’s diet, since he has begun strictly following the diet, he's been responding more quickly and been overall more alert and assertive, When he has to go to the bathroom, he now grabs our hand and guides us to the bathroom, whereas before it was a guessing game. He also hits his plastic cup on the counter when he is thirsty. All of these small changes make drastic difference in his quality of life. So this raises the question on whether recent changes in the American food industry have caused this great peak of autism rates.
A few years ago there was nationwide hysteria regarding the relationship between vaccines and autism. As mentioned earlier, even I succumbed to these beliefs. Parents refused to and feared having their children vaccinated after claims running wild in the media that common vaccinations caused autism or at least increased the chance of it. All of this hysteria was due to Andrew Wakefield conducting a fraudulent study. These claims have since been refuted, for much information has been found proving that this couldn't be further from the truth. Numerous major studies have show that vaccines for children do not increase the chance of autism, however, yet to be proven is if they affect children who already run a risk of having autism. Even for those who had a sibling with ASD, children did not show ASD symptoms after receiving the MMR vaccine.
Despite the claims being refuted and the entire incident being proved a fraud, parents yet still remain wary and cautious. Parents across the country, primarily in more liberal states, such as California, were upset and anxious in light to this information and controversy, leading many children today unvaccinated. Due to the lack of vaccinations, diseases that had not been seen in decades are resurfacing, such as measles.
However, though vaccines may not lead to an increased risk of autism, other factors may affect the risk of a pregnant woman giving birth to an autistic child. This past December it was found that women who ingest anti-depressants during pregnancy can double the risk of giving birth to a child who will suffer from ASD. This relationship suggests that their is a positive correlation between the increased rates of autism diagnoses and the increases prescriptions of anti-depressants. The long list of things pregnant women should avoid has gained a new addition and this time it is a substance that has become vital to many people’s proper functioning in daily life.
The scientific community has actually taken on two different standpoints regarding the increased ASD diagnoses. The first standpoint is that there is an over diagnosis of the disorder. Though there has been a massive global spike of those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, many researchers in both the United States and Europe deem that the increase is only in diagnoses and not in actual people with autism. The annual numbers of people being diagnosed with autism did not increase but rather there was one spike when the standards for autism changed and other mental diseases became assimilated with ASD.
Those who see the increase being due to over diagnosis also tend to believe that the survey used to diagnose ASD did not need to be changed and that the modifications were unnecessary. The primary changes that were made to the survey were regarding syntax and diction, being more specific and in depth than they were before. This survey indicated that people that may have actually had other mental disorders were now reclassified as autistic. It is said that rather than more people having autism each year, with increased rates, there was a whole surge of diagnoses due to autism swallowing up other diagnoses. For instance, Asperger Syndrome is no longer referred to as so and is instead classified as a low level of autism spectrum disorder. It isn't that more people have autism, it’s that people with different yet similar disorders were reclassified.
The other point of view within the scientific community is that rather than there being an over diagnosis there is instead now a more accurate diagnosis and his is why we’ve seen such a spike in diagnoses in recent years. The new screening process used is referred to as the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers—Revised, with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F), being a two step process primarily from children ages 16-30 months old. There are twenty questions that parents answer in order to classify their child as having a low, medium, or high risk of having autism. The renewed questionnaire can more accurately diagnose children therefore increasing the opportunities to improve their quality of life earlier on, giving them a better chance in modern society.
Furthermore, in the midst of a second industrial evolution it is inevitable that society faces many technological advances, especially in medicine. Therefore, those who see the increase due to a more accurate diagnosis deem that the survey was altered and the numbers rose due to a better understanding of the disease and all things related to it. Due to a better understanding, examples and rephrased questions were added to the modified screening tools, thereby resulting in a more accurate representation of the national demographic of those suffering from ASD, or those at risk of ASD. The more specified questions enable there to be little misdiagnosis, therefore greater focus on those who actually need it. By specifying the risk earlier on , we are able to address the disease and provide early aid that may greatly impact the child’s future in society.
Many conclusions have been made in result of the Autism Spectrum Disorder epidemic, many in their unique ways being accurate explanations to one aspect of the incident. Though environmental factors, the increased abuse of anti-depressants specifically, may be affecting the rates of autism, it seems that the noticeable spike in diagnoses numbers were simply a result of broadened screening techniques that more accurately classified and reclassified children with mental diseases on the spectrum of autism likelihood.