The CDC has released a new study, as of March 20, 2013. When you glance at the new results, you
might not be surprised or upset about what you are reading.
might not be surprised or upset about what you are reading.
Results--The prevalence of parent-reported ASD among children aged 6–17 was 2.00% in 2011–2012, a significant increase from 2007 (1.16%). The magnitude of the increase was greatest for boys and for adolescents aged 14–17. Cohort analyses revealed consistent estimates of both the prevalence of parent-reported ASD and
autism severity ratings over time. Children who were first diagnosed in or after 2008 accounted for much of the observed prevalence increase among school-aged children (those aged 6–17). School-aged children diagnosed in or after 2008 were more likely to have milder ASD and less likely to have severe ASD than those diagnosed in or before 2007.
Conclusions--The results of the cohort analyses increase confidence that differential survey measurement error over time was not a major contributor to observed changes in the prevalence of parent-reported ASD. Rather, much of the prevalence increase from 2007 to 2011–2012 for school-aged children was the result of diagnoses of
children with previously unrecognized ASD.
If you analyze what this means, you will realize that the CDC is now saying that 1 in 50 children have Autism as opposed to the 1 in 88 that they reported in 2007. For a parent of a child with Autism, this isn’t surprising to me, I keep saying that the numbers they were reporting were most likely not accurate, now maybe others will see that there is definitely something wrong, and we need some changes. Some will argue that we are reaching for more diagnoses’ and some will say that Autism is just the new ADHD, but please ponder this…
“If 1 in 50 children are showing signs of Autism or a similar disorder and people everywhere aren't shouting for answers, then there is something wrong with our society. No matter what the diagnosis is, or what “label”we put on them, these children are screaming at us for answers and no one seems to want or know how to help them. We just push them through (school, home environment, etc.) and hope that the world will eventually change on its own.”
We need to be doing everything possible to find answers to why more and more of our children are suffering from Autism, Asperger's, and PDD-NOS. I guarantee there are answers out there yet no one is ready to work together to find them. Is it our food, is it our water, is it genetic, is it in our vaccines, is it the air we breathe...or quite possibly this...A COMBINATION OF IT ALL!
The time for change is NOW!
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011–2012. National Health Statistics Reports, 65.
“If 1 in 50 children are showing signs of Autism or a similar disorder and people everywhere aren't shouting for answers, then there is something wrong with our society. No matter what the diagnosis is, or what “label”we put on them, these children are screaming at us for answers and no one seems to want or know how to help them. We just push them through (school, home environment, etc.) and hope that the world will eventually change on its own.”
We need to be doing everything possible to find answers to why more and more of our children are suffering from Autism, Asperger's, and PDD-NOS. I guarantee there are answers out there yet no one is ready to work together to find them. Is it our food, is it our water, is it genetic, is it in our vaccines, is it the air we breathe...or quite possibly this...A COMBINATION OF IT ALL!
The time for change is NOW!
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011–2012. National Health Statistics Reports, 65.