The Autism Epidemic - Is there one?

Today I read an excellent article on the enimitable James Randi's blog. It was written by Dr Steven Novella, a clinical Neurologist at Yale's Medical School (who has his own blog HERE). It's about this perception of an 'autism epidemic' that different groups are trying to co-opt to use as 'excuses' for all sorts of things, none the least of which is the anti-vaccination nutjobs who are trying to tell people that childhood vaccination causes autism...

 

One of the comments on James Randi's blog really resonated with me... I know that when we were young, you never heard of someone having Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), It's all recent, I mean the whole "Aspergers Syndrome" wasn't even named as a 'thing' until the mid '40's, but wasn't really being widely diagnosed until the '90's. 

So, of course, NOW we have lots of kids with Aspergers, but, before it was being diagnosed, before the doctors, teachers, psychologists etc, knew about it, they were just 'naughty' or 'troubled' kids.

I remember one kid in school, Steven, who had trouble with everything except engines. Couldn't spell, couldn't write, couldn't do sums, etc. Teachers just thought he was stupid (and one or two told him that). I recall one day a teacher called him up to the front of the class and, as part of yelling at him for not doing his work, told him he needed to 'pull his socks up', so he bent over and started pulling his socks up. The teacher got the ruler out and belted him with it. I remember feeling really sorry for him because you could TELL he didn't understand, he honestly thought the teacher was telling him to pull up his socks...
Also, there's my ex. He's has Aspergers, as does his father. So, the condition certainly WAS around 70 years ago, just not diagnosed.
As Dr Novella says, if you cast a bigger net, you'll catch more fish, doesn't mean there were more fish there in the first place...

I thought about it, and, I guess it's like in the middle ages people didn't die of a 'stroke' or a 'heart attack', and they didn't get sick from 'hyperthyroidism' or 'diabetes', they just dropped dead, or got gangrenous feet, because they were 'smited' by God, or whatever other excuse the people of the day thought of to explain the inexplicable. Now, however, there's no need for the superstition behind it, we know, through diagnosis, testing or autopsy, that the person died of this, or that... 

So, yes, now we have lots of 'Autistic spectrum' kids. It's fantastic that the syndrome has a name, it has a means of diagnosis and it has a means of assisting these kids make the best of their lives.

They CAN do well, they CAN be happy and they CAN be fantastically fun to have around. I know, I have one. And he was showing signs of being 'unusual' before he was vaccinated, and his father, and grandfather have it, so, I am fairly certain it's not because I vaccinated him.

For more information on Aspergers, see the Wikipedia page: HERE

Exceptional information on Aspergers and the Psychology thereof available on Tony Attwood's page.