1 in 70 boys

hopanka

that's the newest conservative number by the CDC...overall 1 in 110 children...and I think 1 in 315 girls has ASD.

KCAL 9 news just ran the report as official numbers for 2009.

This is getting crazy, don't you think? It just irks me that they keep pointing to the possibility of better dx'ing as the cause. They did say, it's not known for sure, and it could be possibly more things than just that, but they only mentioned the better dx'ing as one of the likely causes.

breezy0629

Just opinion here... I have no expertise. The # doesn't shock me. It doesn't make me happy, but it's not shocking.

There are times when I see ASD everywhere I go. My husband teaches a college sunday school class of all guys ages 18-24. A LOT OF QUIRKY going on in that class. He's got a split of popular, socially typical guys and then this 'group' who don't actually GROUP who range from genius/socially quirky to diagnostic Aspergers. It is amazing to hear some of the stories he brings home. Most of them actually bring a smile to my face.... I chuckle a bit on the inside and tell myself 'it's going to be ok'. Most of these guys haven't had dx's (nor do some of them need it) and no therapies...... and they aren't the socially included group with girls hanging off of them, but they ALL bring something of worth to the group!

I think our environment certainly plays a part... but I think we've just got a new class of thinking and parents are stepping in and getting 'help'.

hopanka

I agree that better dx'ing plays a part, sure...but I didn't like the propaganda, that the news was trying to sneak in there...c'mon, they ONLY stated that particular explanation as a likely cause...and then towards the end, as a disclaimer or whatever, they quickly said that nobody really knows and it probably is not the only cause. You would have to have seen it to understand what I'm trying to say.

With the vac's, I'm not sure honestly. I have to tell you - my son is not vac'ed, not a single dose (for different reasons), and look where I'm posting...so, clearly NOT a cause in my case.

However, the studies in Scandinavia...though I'm not at all sure about the details, 'cause I didn't study them...I'm just asking if the number of vac's are the same as here in the U.S. You know, I'm European myself, so I know the overall number of vac's in kids is WAY lower at least where I'm from than the standard in the U.S. I read somewhere (don't ask me where, I don't remember now) that it seems that autism started rising as the number of vac's here in the U.S. and in UK reached over a certain number....I think over 30, if I'm not mistaken. I remember a while ago, I counted with my SIL who is still in Europe, what their standard schedule is for her daughter and it was no more than 16-20 doses of vaccines altogether. So, I'm not sure if maybe certain human beings with an innate predisposition of a slightly worse immune system to begin with - will go "over the edge" with a certain number of vaccines - let's say for example: 36 (in the U.S.), but not 20 (like in my country). I don't know - just hypothesizing, really. But, I do believe the environmental factors do play a big role.

And maybe the reason why the vaccine studies always come back as inconclusive, is because they keep testing the general population (majority with healthy immune systems maybe mixed with a minute number of the ones that "could" have a problem...but it's all random) and not specifically the group with the altered immune system. Well, the reason they cannot specifically target this group is that the technology is not there yet, docs don't know how to test for it...and if I remember correctly that's what the DAN community is pushing for now - research to develop testing/screening for all newborns to identify, which ones could be the ones more susceptible to this vac reaction.

All I know is what I can observe....when I was a child, I never saw any children with "autistic" behaviors and autism was considered rare (though maybe under-dx'd, but I'm just saying - kids with "visible" problems that you would notice), yes - I remember a couple with Down syndrome here and there, but that was it. Fast forward to now, in the same country - no change really. Still don't see these kids in public, you don't hear about anybody having an ASD child that you know...etc. The official numbers for autism in my country are also not alarming. And the vaccine schedule is still the same....doesn't it seem odd?

However, now I live in the U.S. (CA of all places) and I'm telling you...I don't have to be an expert in ASD, but you plainly see kids with visible ASD issues wherever you go. Seriously, in the supermarket, in the park.....we went to visit my BIL in Phoenix and went to their HOA pool....bam, there was a kid with autism....just randomly seeing TONS of kids all over the place all the time. This can't be just better dx'ing....I feel like they are EVERYWHERE....and no, I don't think it's because I have a child with ASD, so maybe I hang out at places where other ASD people would be....I'm not saying that I see them at our tx's office....that's natural, but I see them randomly in public places where people go on a daily basis....meaning, there are a LOT of them around me.

That's not how it was when I was a kid and my husband says the same thing (he grew up in the U.S.)....he never remembers seeing them at all and now it is SO OFTEN.

I don't know - to me it is puzzling and I remember both McCain and Obama acknowledged it last year during the pres campaign as a true epidemic.

Just thinking out loud really, as a mom....but it's not adding up to me..that better dx'ing and screening would play a deciding role in this phenomenon. Or am I crazy? :-)

 

hopanka

I know..it could be...but I used it as an example because I STILL don't see them or hear about them in my country in the present time. And the official numbers have not increased this dramatically either as it is seen here in the U.S....I think a generation ago it was 3 in 10,000 in the U.S. and now 1 in 110?....that's what I meant. Some of it is due to better dx'ing....sure...but you could not have missed THIS many kids. That seems impossible, that's all.

I understand that when I was a child the inclusion of disabled children probably wasn't stellar...however, at present time, when I visit I do see children in wheelchairs occassionally or I know of a Down syndrome child that plays at the playground at our tennis club....that sort of stuff...people of all sorts of disabilities are more "out there" with the general public, which is great, but not autistic children (does it mean they're still hiding them, or they are just very rare still as the official numbers for my country state...the numbers haven't budged over there from a decade ago.

Here in the U.S., though - quite different. We see these kids often. And the numbers have skyrocketed. That's all I was trying to compare.

Auntie, I appreciate your view on all my "thinking out loud" posts...I am certainly not one of those people who has to have everyone agreeing with her, I really like learning about what others know about things that I am just exploring still. Just wanted to get that out there, because I know sometimes people don't like "arguing" on the Internet. I'm not arguing...I appreciate when people don't see it my way...but only when they tell me why and if it makes sense, lol! And you're certainly doing that. I've been on this journey only about 2 years and I'm trying hard to figure things out...I'm still in the stage where I want to understand the roots of things because I want to "cure" my kid...I'm not at the acceptance stage yet...YKWIM?