Better diagnosis, screening behind rise in autism

Better diagnosis, screening behind rise in autism

www.msnbc.msn.com

...autism is nearly twice as common as officials said it was only five years ago, and likely affects roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens.

Health officials attribute the increase largely to better recognition of cases, through wide screening and better diagnosis. But the search for the cause of autism is really only beginning, and officials acknowledge that other factors may be helping to drive up the numbers.

"We're not quite sure the reasons for the increase,"...

(visit the link for the full news article)

Yeah right. The headline says it's "better diagnosis and screening" but the truth is no one knows what's really happening.

True, the modern world is full of poisons - including our air, water, food, medicines and vaccines. But that ain't it.

Corporate interests demand that researchers prove single cause-and-effect - even though everyone knows complex systems analysis is the only way to go - people are part of the larger environment. Everything is part of a larger complex system, and everything interacts with everything else.

How 'bout they prove Koch's principles of disease actually apply to complex systems contaminated with multiple toxins from multiple sources?

Bah.



www.msnbc.msn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Inoculations and vaccinations cause autism.

Lots of people know what is happening.

Peace

reply to post by zroth


"Lots of people" may "know what's happening" - but the accepted science supposedly proves it's NOT vaccines.

...Truth is, we humans are complex systems living inside and beside a whole bunch of other complex systems. Point being, the interractions are complex - looking for straight up cause-and-effect is not productive.

Originally posted by zroth

Inoculations and vaccinations cause autism.

Lots of people know what is happening.

Peace

I work in Children's Services, and have done a significant amount of work over the years with autistic children. Some of those children have NOT been vaccinated. One family I've worked with chose not to vaccinate their second child, convinced that the MMR vaccine had contributed or caused their first child's autism. The second child was also diagnosed with autism.

I don't necessarily disagree that there is the potential for such links to exist... I think there's some evidence to suggest that there may be a relationship between vaccines and autism - but there's also a significant amount of evidence to suggest that there are many, many other factors at work.

The fact that many children with autism share specific allergies (particularly to red and yellow food dyes), similar gastrointestinal issues, and several other key health conditions, suggests that the problem goes far beyond a vaccination or two, and stems more from (in my opinion) the modern lifestyle and its associated risks.

Think about it... everything we eat is processed (sometimes even with ammonia-treated pink slime, apparently), full of preservatives, colours, various chemicals (ever looked at the ingredients for icecream?)... we drive cars that spew out noxious gases, we live in cities where you can barely see the sky at times, we live sedentary lifestyles and eat and drink like we're going to die tomorrow.

Is it any wonder our children are sick?

I don't doubt that awareness and diagnosis have contributed to a perceived increase in autism... but there's a legitimate (not merely perceived) increase behind it all... and if we're going to point fingers, you can probably point in any direction you like... because the reasons are all around us.

"They" are screening children as young as 2 years old for behaviors associated with the Autism Spectrum.

The Autism Spectrum is an umbrella covering anyone who falls in this category.

Within the Spectrum there are different kinds and levels of Autism. Not all cases of Autism are severe.

The child that day dreamed in class and didn't seem able to focus on instruction - - - Today would fit under the "umbrella" of Autism Spectrum.

So YES! These behaviors have always been - - but today we don't just let children "flounder" through school and hope for the best.

Is there more cases today - - - or is the problem trying to fit everyone into a "round" hole?

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by zroth

 

"Lots of people" may "know what's happening" - but the accepted science supposedly proves it's NOT vaccines.

...Truth is, we humans are complex systems living inside and beside a whole bunch of other complex systems. Point being, the interractions are complex - looking for straight up cause-and-effect is not productive.

Excellent post.

I think there are some hereditary factors - - at least in mild/borderline cases of both Autism and ADD.

I think a lot of these mild/borderline cases would/will be/are natural in who they are - - - they just don't "Fit the Program" - - society has decided upon.

The raw figure of 1 in 88 is misleading. It would be interesting to drill down through those numbers. Are their parent with any sort of consanguinity? Vaccine exposure to me seems to be tenuous at best, however exposure to lead is a much greater worry. Are there any trends for ethnicity, location. What type of water did the mom drink? Did she take prenatal vitamins? How does each parents genogram look? All in all there does need to be more research, but a lot of it is explained in the first few paragraphs. The definition has changed from a very specific autism to a more amorphous autism spectrum disorders

Its not toxins or any other alternative health nonsense. And the diagnosis is not "better" it is just not the same at all.

DSM I (1952)

000-x28 Schizophrenic reaction, childhood type

Here will be classified those schizophrenic reactions occurring before puberty. The clinical picture may differ from schizophrenic reactions occurring in other age periods because of the immaturity and plasticity of the patient at the time of onset of the reaction. Psychotic reactions in children, manifesting primarily autism, will be classified here.

DSM II (1968)
[autism was not mentioned; the word appears only under the following category]

295.8 Schizophrenia, childhood type

This category is for cases in which schizophrenic symptoms appear before puberty. The condition may be manifested by autistic, atypical and withdrawn behavior; failure to develop identity separate from the mother's; and general unevenness, gross immaturity and inadequacy of development. These developmental defects may result in mental retardation, which should also be diagnosed.

DSM III (1980)

Diagnostic criteria for Infantile Autism

A. Onset before 30 months of age

B. Pervasive lack of responsiveness to other people (autism)

C. Gross deficits in language development

D. If speech is present, peculiar speech patterns such as immediate and delayed echolalia, metaphorical language, pronominal reversal.

E. Bizarre responses to various aspects of the environment, e.g., resistance to change, peculiar interest in or attachments to animate or inanimate objects.

F. Absence of delusions, hallucinations, loosening of associations, and incoherence as in Schizophrenia.

DSM III-R (1987)

Diagnostic Criteria for Autistic Disorder

At least eight of the following sixteen items are present, these to include at least two items from A, one from B, and one from C.

A. Qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction (the examples within parentheses are arranged so that those first listed are more likely to apply to younger or more disabled, and the later ones, to older or less disabled) as manifested by the following:

1.Marked lack of awareness of the existence or feelings of others (for example, treats a person as if that person were a piece of furniture; does not notice another person's distress; apparently has no concept of the need of others for privacy);

2. No or abnormal seeking of comfort at times of distress (for example, does not come for comfort even when ill, hurt, or tired; seeks comfort in a stereotyped way, for example, says "cheese, cheese, cheese" whenever hurt);

3. No or impaired imitation (for example, does not wave bye-bye; does not copy parent's domestic activities; mechanical imitation of others' actions out of context);

4. No or abnormal social play (for example, does not actively participate in simple games; refers solitary play activities; involves other children in play only as mechanical aids); and

5. Gross impairment in ability to make peer friendships (for example, no interest in making peer friendships despite interest in making fiends, demonstrates lack of understanding of conventions of social interaction, for example, reads phone book to uninterested peer.

B. Qualitative impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication and in imaginative activity, (the numbered items are arranged so that those first listed are more likely to apply to younger or more disabled, and the later ones, to older or less disabled) as manifested by the following:

1. No mode of communication, such as: communicative babbling, facial expression, gesture, mime, or spoken language;

2. Markedly abnormal nonverbal communication, as in the use of eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, or gestures to initiate or modulate social interaction (for example, does not anticipate being held, stiffens when held, does not look at the person or smile when making a social approach, does not greet parents or visitors, has a fixed stare in social situations);

3. Absence of imaginative activity, such as play-acting of adult roles, fantasy character or animals; lack of interest in stories about imaginary events;

4. Marked abnormalities in the production of speech, including volume, pitch, stress, rate, rhythm, and intonation (for example, monotonous tone, question-like melody, or high pitch);

5. Marked abnormalities in the form or content of speech, including stereotyped and repetitive use of speech (for example, immediate echolalia or mechanical repetition of a television commercial); use of "you" when "I" is meant (for example, using "You want cookie?" to mean "I want a cookie"); idiosyncratic use of words or phrases (for example, "Go on green riding" to mean "I want to go on the swing"); or frequent irrelevant remarks (for example, starts talking about train schedules during a conversation about ports); and

6. Marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others, despite adequate speech

edit on 29-3-2012 by DavidWillts because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by Annee
"They" are screening children as young as 2 years old for behaviors associated with the Autism Spectrum.

The Autism Spectrum is an umbrella covering anyone who falls in this category.

Within the Spectrum there are different kinds and levels of Autism. Not all cases of Autism are severe.

The child that day dreamed in class and didn't seem able to focus on instruction - - - Today would fit under the "umbrella" of Autism Spectrum.

So YES! These behaviors have always been - - but today we don't just let children "flounder" through school and hope for the best.

Is there more cases today - - - or is the problem trying to fit everyone into a "round" hole?

Well yes and no, that umbrella term for autism is not official yet, that is the newest most subjective deffinition to be released in the DSM 5. I do find it funny though, have you ever heard a doctor say anything like "you kind of have AIDS" or "your biopsy showed your tumor was kind of cancer"

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by zroth

 

"Lots of people" may "know what's happening" - but the accepted science supposedly proves it's NOT vaccines.

...Truth is, we humans are complex systems living inside and beside a whole bunch of other complex systems. Point being, the interractions are complex - looking for straight up cause-and-effect is not productive.

The "truth" that you speak to is this. The "science" you call out is funded by big pharma and the results are submitted to government agencies like the FDA to check over the paperwork (a.k.a - filings).

There is no science being done to solve any of the medical problems on this planet. That would be counter-intuitive to the mission of every corporation; making money.

I agree 100% that we are complex systems. We are out of balance and living unnaturally.

Originally posted by DavidWillts

Originally posted by Annee
"They" are screening children as young as 2 years old for behaviors associated with the Autism Spectrum.

The Autism Spectrum is an umbrella covering anyone who falls in this category.

Within the Spectrum there are different kinds and levels of Autism. Not all cases of Autism are severe.

The child that day dreamed in class and didn't seem able to focus on instruction - - - Today would fit under the "umbrella" of Autism Spectrum.

So YES! These behaviors have always been - - but today we don't just let children "flounder" through school and hope for the best.

Is there more cases today - - - or is the problem trying to fit everyone into a "round" hole?

Well yes and no, that umbrella term for autism is not official yet, that is the newest most subjective deffinition to be released in the DSM 5. I do find it funny though, have you ever heard a doctor say anything like "you kind of have AIDS" or "your biopsy showed your tumor was kind of cancer"

Well - - I'm raising one of those subjective definitions right now. He's age 4.

Brain signals are believed to be trainable. Early training with borderline (you kind of have Autism) kids - - seems to be effective.

Originally posted by zroth


The "truth" that you speak to is this. The "science" you call out is funded by big pharma and the results are submitted to government agencies like the FDA to check over the paperwork (a.k.a - filings).

Yeah, your point? I mean big pharma also makes their money off the medication used to treat autisim, but they could make a killing if they were to stop vaccines, i mean a polio epidemic would be a gold mine.

There is no science being done to solve any of the medical problems on this planet. That would be counter-intuitive to the mission of every corporation; making money.

I agree 100% that we are complex systems. We are out of balance and living unnaturally.

Well that really does not make sense, don't you read anything from the church of alternative medicine? Supposedly alternative medicine has the cure for everything and those guys are all loaded.

I think it's over diagnosed. I remember the big fad used to be ADHD. Everyone had it in the 90's. Heck both my sister and I were said to have it. Shoved pills down my throat and everything. I think this is the same thing to a certain extent and of course boys are getting the short end of the stick because they have more energy. It should be noted most people diagnosed at going to be on the high functioning end of the spectrum (Aspergers being the most common diagnosis)

reply to post by DavidWillts


I really can't make a clearer point. The people the population are relying on are motivated by money. Nothing positive will ever result from that motivation. A few will get the economic benefit and the masses will suffer.

Your second comment isn't really worth replying to.

Peace

Originally posted by zroth
reply to post by DavidWillts

 

Your second comment isn't really worth replying to.

Peace

Oh, but it is.
If you want to say a cure is not being made because it would not make enough money, then how do you explain all the alternative health experts that are filthy rich and claim that they can cure cancer? It appears quite a bit of money can be made from a cure I mean kevin Trudeau can cure everything from cancer to aids and the guy gets millions of dollars. *and remember it is that evil big pharma run FDA that says he can't cure anything

Originally posted by zroth

Inoculations and vaccinations cause autism.

Lots of people know what is happening.

Peace

I wonder if GMO corn, soy as well as drugged meat have something to do with it. Toxins are deadly (slang replaced).

Originally posted by zroth

Inoculations and vaccinations cause autism.

BS.

My dad was diagnosed with Aspergers, as was I, only after my son was diagnosed with Autism.

Dad is 83 - he had no vaccinations at all. ever. I had some in the early 1960's - but not MMR because it didn't exist then!

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


he didn't have yellow fever vaccines?

reply to post by DavidWillts


you are not reading.

there is NO money in cures. that is why there are none.

the money is the treatment of symptoms and milking us dry from birth to death.