Is There Really ab Autism Epidemic?

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-there-really-an-autism-epidemic&print=true

Autism has become more popular over the past decade or so. From 1993 to 2003 it has been noted that one in 166 children suffer from Autism; also during this time the U.S. Department of Education uncovered that there was a 657% increase in the rate of Autism. Because of these statistics many researchers often refer to this increase as an epidemic. But first we must find what is actually the problem.
Autism is a severe disorder that makes its appearance during infancy. People with this disorder can be described as having problems with language, social bonding and imagination; and all suffer from serious communication deficits, some of which are mute. Most choose not to engage in close relationships but rather keep to themselves in there own mental world. Because of that they participate in highly repetitive activities and dislike change greatly. About two-thirds are mentally retarded and for an unknown reason are mostly male. The cause of this disorder is still not clear so some clues lead researchers to believe that genetic factors play a significant role along with other possible agents such as: antibiotics, viruses, allergies, and parents with symptoms.

Are vaccines the problem?
Symptoms of Autism become clearer around the age of two, which is shortly after the infant would have received vaccinations for various diseases. Many claim that their child has developed Autism after having the vaccine for MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) OR following vaccines that contained thimerosal which contains mercury. American, European, and Japanese studies show that the rate of MMR vaccinations have either remained constant or declined but the rate of Autism diagnoses has still soared. This study and others like it suggest that vaccines aren't the cause but they may help trigger the disorder in a small amount of children.

Changing Criteria
Over the years the criteria for the diagnoses of Autism has changed. In 1980 an individual was required to meet six of six criteria to be diagnosed with Autism and now using the 1994 edition one is required to meet only eight of sixteen criteria. The 1980 criteria contained only two diagnoses relevant to Autism; whereas, the 1994 version included five diagnoses such as Asperger's syndrome (high-functioning variant of Autism). Also legal changes mislead the actual number of Autistic children.

Swapped diagnoses
In 2005 psychiatrist Suniti Chakrabarti of the Child Development Center in Staffor, England, and psychiatrist Eric Fombonne of McGill University conducted an investigation that tracked the prevalence of Autism from 1992-1998 in 10,000 children in the same area. Found no change prevalence which suggests that the rates of diagnoses don't change over time. It was also found that from 1994-2003 the rates of mental retardation and learning disabilities decreased while rates of Autism diagnoses increase. Thus it is too early to suggest that there is an Autism Epidemic.

Response:
I think that this article brought the problem of over diagnoses. We should keep the criteria for diagnosing the same for as long as possible and not be so quick to label someone with a disorder. Also what does the diagnoses mean for someone who may not have Autism but do have the eight symptoms, does the medication given actually in turn cause Autism?