Rise is Not Due to an Autism Epidemic
The rise in autism diagnoses has raised a number of questions about what could be causing such a dramatic increase. Many different ideas have been thrown out as suggestions, with some of them being decent guesses (better ability to notice autism), and some of them being terrible and not based on any actual facts (vaccines?). But the question has still remained: why has the rate of autism gone up as much as it has? A new study is positing its own theory, and it’s saying that there might not actually be that substantial of an increase in autism rates. The Penn State study instead gives evidence that the biggest reason for the increase is actually just a reclassification of other disorders and not an epidemic of autism.
Researchers Studied 11 Years Worth of Data
The researchers on this study pulled from data regarding enrollment in special education from 2000-2010. The numbers on how many students were in special education classes remained fairly steady, but the reasons that children were in the classes changed significantly. In the study’s timespan, 6.2 million kids were in special education. In 2000, 93,264 children were in these classes and had been diagnosed with autism. By 2010, there were 419,647 children in special education with autism diagnoses. That’s over 4 times as many children diagnosed with autism. The decade itself saw a 331% increase in autism. According to the study around 65% of the increase is a result of reclassification. Many children who had at one point simply fallen under an umbrella of “intellectually disabled” were now getting a more official diagnosis of autism. This is most evident when looking at the ages in the study. In students who were nine years old, 59% of the autism rise could be linked to this change. In those who were 15, however, it explained 97% of the autism spike. These students would have been younger at a point when they were more likely to get a diagnosis of intellectually disabled.
Other Factors Still Affect the Rate
Researchers obviously aren’t saying this is the entirety of the reason. Pediatricians are also generally getting better at finding and diagnosing autism. Similarly, parents and teachers are more aware of the symptoms than ever. It seems as though the key to the increase in autism is, generally, just a result of having a better idea of what autism actually is.
explore new worlds with the snailvr glass headset!
Rise in Autism Mostly Due to Reclassification
No comments:
Post a Comment