So What IS Causing the Increase in Autism??

My .02
I don't think it's on the rise (as a % of the population).
I think people are more aware (ex: "my 6 month old avoids eye contact. Is it autism" questions) and are looking for it earlier.

I think awareness leads to diagnosis. We don't wee kids today described as "slow" or "a bit off" or "retarded" like was common once.

I think most people who have been in the workforce long enough, can relate to "Jim, from accounting, who is a wiz with numbers but is in spangle of small talk" type people....undiagnosed autism spectrum.

You and I think a lot alike. Other thoughts (in addition to the processedfoods, pesticides, dyes) that have come to mind - an increased use of sunscreen, increased use of microwave use - especially when microwaving in plastic containers, air conditioners, technology, radiation, and so forth. Who knows?

added: more about autism, vaccines, and "scientific studies" can be found on youtube searching "Gary Null". There's one where he speaks at the NYS Assembly Hearing where he talks about pharmaceutical companies .... interesting stuff.

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The DSM-IV

(aka the Diagnostics & Statistical Manual 4th edition)

Ever notice how 'retarded' children have all but vanished?
So too have "touched", "slow", "idiot savant", and a dozen other classifications?

Know anything about Aspies (aspbergers)? About how they were nearly never diagnosed as anything except 'a bit strange'? Or 'Brilliant but eccentric?'

Or spend any time in IT? (You can't swing a cat in Microsoft, google, or any other IT field / company without hitting half a dozen HFA/Aspie types.
+
Notice how 'instituionalizing' is almost unheard of (so to sterilization)
=
Weird Aunt Sally isn't a spinster knitting (and counting every stitch), but a 6 figure salaried data anylyst married to "That's Just the Way He Is Uncle Mike", also not doing menial labor in a factors but a software engineer pulling in 6 figures... And have you met Sally & Mikes 3 gorgeous kids? 2 are aspies as well: 1 top in their school in science about to go early enterance to Yales genetics program, the other already working on a promising film career.

Know how long medschool takes?
How long it takes DSM classifications to start being in active and ordinary use?

Looked at the HUGE push for early intervention (aka educated parents)

Ditto checked out when insurance companies started PAYING for early intervention and ongoing therapies?

When looked at holistically, the percentages are approximately the same for autism as they've always been.

Lots of factors go into why we're more AWARE now (and that really is huge, beyond huge, I can't underscore that enough), as well as other factors which -culturally- have made it a desireable adaptation (highly successful families passing on genes, traits, and tendencies... Instead of dying with Weird Aunt Sally & That's Just the Way He Is Uncle Mike). An I simplifying? Yep.

SIMILARLY in cultures where there is still stigma attached to neurological diversity ... The "old" numbers are still the same. But medical sociologists can extrapolate from other data to see the 'true' percentages are also the same.

The human race has GREAT mental diversity. In some areas and eras it's wanted/needed, and in others it's pure problems. But it's just "us". Just as differing physicalities keep us strong as a species, so too, do differing minds/brains.

There probably is not an increase in autism - now bear with me as I explain...

1. our population has grown since we were kids...not just in the U.S. but worldwide.
2. many cases of autism have been misdiagnosed.
3. vaccinations DO NOT cause autism (in my opinion).
4. And this one will probably get me bashed - many parents (NOT ALL) NEED their child to be "labeled" - if the slightest thing is wrong - it MUST be labeled...it MUST have a name.
5. with all the advancements in medicine and technology, they (doctors and panels) have changed the "spectrum" and it's now even bigger than it was before as more children are given this label.
6. as we try for a "faster" life - we give more processed foods loaded with chemicals that can mess with growing bodies and brains.

No. I do not have children with autism. I know people with children with autism. These are merely my speculating what has caused the "rise" in numbers.

The people who don't believe that there is a true increase in autism are generally the same people who believe everything else the CDC says.

The CDC ITSELF recognizes a huge increase in autism - http://www.cdc.gov/Features/AutismPrevalence . The CDC says that "[s]ome of the increase is due to the way children are identified, diagnosed, and served in their local communities, although exactly how much is due to these factors is unknown." If there was any way the CDC could attribute ALL of the increase to better diagnosis I think it would if for no other reason than to calm people's fears.

Growing up I never knew anyone with autism, or even ADD. I knew one profoundly disabled child who was the younger brother of a good friend. He had had some sort of accident at birth (low oxygen or something along those lines).

IMHO autism is a "cluster" disorder which stems from different causes and manifests in different ways in different children. That's why it's been so tough to pin-point exactly what causes it. Though humans are the same to a certain extent, we all have unique genetic combinations, mutations, etc. For example my son and I have a genetic mutation which exists in about 40% of the population.

It is my further opinion that autism, add/hd, allergies, asthma, and type-1 diabetes are disorders of modern life - i.e., environmental toxins. Our children eat genetically modified food, drink fluoride (and God knows what else) filled water, and are receiving vaccines at about 3 times the rate we did. They also consume an unbelievable amount of corn and high fructose corn syrup. There has to be a tipping point in there somewhere.

We have a regulatory system which caters to the very industries they are supposed to monitor. It's called "regulatory capture." Julie Gerberding, former head of the CDC, went to work heading up Merck's vaccine division. That's just one example. The FDA and food/drugs is a whole other story.

:(

I honestly do not believe there is one definite cause for autism. This is coming from a mom who is directly affected with a child with autism. Do I believe his vaccines caused his autism? Not exactly. I do however feel that the vaccines he was given set off a trigger in his system. I seriously doubt if we will ever know what causes autism in most children. I've been offered the opportunity to have a gene study done on my child but I declined because there has not been one gene or that I am aware of that has been definitively linked to autism and I did not feel it was worth putting my child through all that hassle.

I will always wonder what is the cause but when it comes down to it it doesn't matter in the end because my child is who he is and there's no way to reverse time and undo what is. I would bet vaccinations as well as other unnatural or natural influences happen to trigger and progress the diagnoses of autism as well as the expansion of the umbrella.

There are a lot of possible answers, but the first thing I will say is that the numbers exploded when the spectrum was redefined a number of years ago. It now includes a wide variety of disorders and conditions that previously had not been considered a form of "autism." So, in my mind, the first problem is identifying how much of the "growth" is true growth and how much of it is simply the inclusion of new areas that previously hadn't been included.

I also have found that my body can no longer tolerate artificial sweeteners and processed foods and it makes me wonder how much that affects our children, not just what they consume, but what their parents consumed prior to conception and during gestation.

I believe the connection to vaccinations is unclear and that vaccinations do more good than harm, coming from a family that was affected by polio.

ETA: Reading OneAndDone's answer made me think of this -- ADD and ADHD is also on the "rise," as it were -- and in our case, my daughter was daydreaming in school -- repeatedly -- because the material was hard, a full year above her grade level, and because she was anxious about it. The teacher complained. I went to the doctor. She gave us questionnaires for the teacher and for the parents. Those questionnaires went back to the doctor. Now, she has "mild inattentive ADD." Really? Based on two questionnaires? We are tackling it with diet and tackling the anxiety with a tutor this summer. We'll see what happens in the fall. But honestly, I know from having a lot of doctors and nurses in my family, that doctors often hear what parents say and want to help by prescribing a "fix" with medicine or a diagnosis. Makes the parents feel better, makes the schools feel better, and gives everyone a feeling that they're working on a solution. That's not to minimize real problems, but in my daughter's case, there's a dozen different reasons for her behavior that I would consider before believing it's truly ADD. But because the teacher was teaching material a full grade level above where she was and not addressing her anxiety, this ball got rolling. I think the idea that "my son's not making eye contact! Could it be autism?!" and the medical profession's desire to make a change may be part of the problem in a lot of cases.

The people have always been there.
They are just counting them up differently and the differences in the counting make it appear that there is an increase.
For the most part I refuse to get excited over statistics because it doesn't take much to make all the numbers pretty meaningless.
It could very well be there are more people surviving now where they would have died in infancy years ago.
Medical advances have shifted the point where the weak die and the strong survive.
Also, we've got 7 billion people on the planet now.
It would be almost impossible to have all 7 billion to be perfectly healthy.

I don't know. I hate even speculating, because I could be SOOO wrong. Ya know?

I sometimes wonder if all the chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides we are exposed to through medications, plastics, cleaners, cosmetics, food, water...damage dna and cells. Then we pass those along to our babies.

Whatever the increase (one thing I do believe, is better diagnosing is only PART of the increase) I hope science and medicine can figure it out.

In the past these kids were misdiagnosed. My ex is clearly the same as my son yet they called him ADHD.

The diet driven type of Autism I believe was caused by the increased use of antibiotics during labor. Thrush does some nasty things to a baby's digestive system.

While perhaps the numbers have increased, so has our population. In addition, I do think that some things were just "not discussed" back in the day. Why was poor Uncle Albert in the attic, for example.

I believe there needs to be more R&D into this but also in to alot of other diseases as well. It is hard when it effects your family.

I don't think there's an increase in the general population, I think doctors, parents, and teachers are becoming better trained to recognize and categorize it. Back when we were kids, there was always a kid who seemed "weird" compared to the other kids - a kid who wouldn't talk, or would only talk about one certain topic, who didn't know how to interact socially. But because we didn't know that this was an actual medical disorder, we all just felt the kid was "weird." Well, now chances are that child would be diagnosed while still a toddler, and would receive early intervention, perhaps an aide in grade school, etc. There's no increase in autism in and of itself, at least not as far as I can tell, we just know what to call it now, and how to help these kids get by in life. We expect kids to perform at such a high level in general nowadays (think of all the technology they must master, and that we expect them to participate in high-level sports, after-school activities, etc, while still doing all the "kid" stuff we did as kids) - that a child with ANY kind of disability is going to be recognized pretty early on.

Because in the 1960s psychiatrists managed to infiltrate our schools and government. Especially the FDA.

In order to make money, psychiatrists have to have diseases to diagnose and drugs to cure them.

It's been a downhill spiral since then. There is a name for every type of behavior out there! And there are HUGE dollars to be made in offering "cures" AKA drugs.

Also, in controlling our food system. There are more pesticides, GMOs, added hormones, our food is less nutritious, our air less pure. We have a lot more plastic in our lives. We have more vaccinations.

Many kids on the autism spectrum have had their symptoms improved or disappear through detox and managed diets. That leads me to believe that something can be done about it.

I would imagine that there is a genetic link (as with anything--I'm sure we all have genetic weaknesses that predispose us to getting certain things) and there are many more triggers in our environment.

I believe raising kids nowadays is like playing Russian Roulette. You don't know if vaccines will affect your kid. You don't know if they will be allergic to something. You don't know if they are slowly getting poisoned by our food and water. You don't know what genetic dispositions they have, so you don't know what will trigger the gun. You CAN'T say that there is one solution or one trigger for everyone. I'll bet it's different for every person.

I think if someone decides to do a little digging, you'd be surprised and horrified at what you will find in our government's closets.

I asked a similar question a while ago and honestly, there are just lots of theories. There are many good ones though. 1) It is not just autism anymore. It is a spectrum with high and low functioning as well as high and low functioning Aspergers. So many people who live perfectly normal lives may have gotten a diagnosis if they had been children now because of heightened vigilence. 2) There are so many chemicals in our environment. They are causing an increase of allergies, auto-immune disorders, and neurological disorders. I believe autism is related to this.
3) There is a genetic component to autism. In the past, many of those who were "quirky" would not get married and pass on their genes. Nowadays there is practically someone for everyone.
4) Neurological issues are more common in babies who are low birth weight or had other issues as infants. In the past, these infants would have died with out the life saving measures we have now. Now they survive and we see more issues.
5) Some children are less able to process the chemical and metals in our environment. That is where vaccines come in. We don't know enough long term to say they are completely safe. Yes, the WAKEFIELD study was debunked. That does not mean the autism/vaccine link was debunked.

There are many adults who I have reconnected with on FB and other sources who say that as they got older, they got an ADD or Aspergers diagnosis and I can completely see where they are coming from. There are others who say they are being tested and I don't even get where that is coming from. There is such a hypervigilence to cast a huge net that it's ok to get false positives. The newest DSM is revising how ASD are diagnosed and I am very interested in seeing how that effects the numbers.

I recently read a study indicating that it may be linked to an increase in maternal and paternal age (of both the grandparents and parents).

I've read numerous studies indicating that the number of people with autism is not actually on the rise but that it is the number of people *diagnosed* that is increasing.

I think it is caused by a number of factors, both genetic and environmental. I don't think it can be prevented by avoidance.

I've seen a couple of studies that are looking for answers for the same question.

As you've mentioned, diagnoses have changed. In 2010, quite a few people suddenly discovered that they were now "Autistic," when Asperger's was added to the autism spectrum.

I've seen studies that suggest that changing social mores might have something to do with it. Not only maternal age, but paternal age as well, particularly when the parents are in a different age bracket. So, if dad is 40 but mom is 30, or mom is 40 but dad is 30, both couples are more likely to have a child with autism than a couple who are BOTH 40. It is no longer "taboo" to marry someone considerably older/younger.

Another, suggests a link with diabetes, which we all know is on the rise. 9.3% of autistic children were born to mothers who had gestational diabetes OR type 2 diabetes. A doctor at Rice is also studying a link between type 1 diabetes and autism - his theory is that there seems to be a link between the precursors to both conditions.

But, honestly? We might never know.

I personally feel it is a combination of factors.

We definietly consume a lot more pesticides, preservatives, and chemicals in our food, drinks and the air we breath. Along w/ autism there is a rise in allergies, asthma, skin disorders, cancers you name it. I have a hard time w/ the FDA and the guidelines they follow. Basically if things are worded certain ways we as consumers can be easily mis-lead.

I remember back when I was trying to keep my young son on organic milk running into products at certain stores that boasted their dairy was "Hormone and Steroid free" however when I checked in to that I found out it's only %100 true if their labels reads CERTIFIED organic. So basically they can CLAIM whatever they like, but thanks to legalities and wording it may not be true.

I also have a hunch that we way over vaccinated these days. Some I feel are absolutely necessary...whooping cough for one. But flu shots? Hep B for infants? Unless my newborn is getting a tatto, having sex, is an IV drug user or receiving a blood transfusion in a 3rd world country....my bet is they are safe. Yet is PUSHED on you the day they are born! I am 35 and have never had a Hep B shot.
Sadly I don't think we ever will narrow it down!

I agree with Riley, Catherine, OneAndDone, Cheryl and Jessicawessica. They said all that needs to be said.

Read your history, and learn about life and the death rate before modern medicine, specifically vaccines and antibiotics.

Kids taht are now labeled as autistic.. were called retarded or slow in years past.. I really dont think the number of kids with problems changed.. we are better able to identify the problems and have better names for them.

I think it's all of the above. They study individual possible causes like vaccines but it's difficult to figure out what the combinations of chemicals, pesticides, dyes, sweetners, artificial flavors and plastics in our systems could be doing.

It's just common sense that when we consume, bath in and breathe chemicals that in high doses have been proven dangerous there will be health consequences.

The US has by far the highest per capita rate of autism. We also have the highest (by quite a lot) number of government mandated vaccines. Those are facts but I am only speculating on this final point. I'd bet we eat, breathe and slather on more chemicals then most industrialized nations in the form of food additives, pesticides and plastics.
I think it's time we all thought about what that might be doing to our kids.

I don't know, when I was a little kid in the 80's there were definitely at least 1 in 88 "quirky" kids or oddball types. We just didn't have a name for it back then. Now they'd be classified aspbergers or ASD.

Another way to look at it is the increase in pressure on kids to perform, and schools as a whole to test the kids to a specific set of standards, has caused many students to fall behind- which in turn causes many parents to seek out a diagnosis to get them accommodations they need to keep up with the rigid and rigorous pace of today's classrooms.

I really don't think developmental disorders are linked to the vaccines or food production issues. Allergies, earlier onset of puberty, and widespread cancer on the otherhand... I wonder.

If I had to venture a guess, I would say the processed food and all the plastic we come in contact with would be a good place to start looking?

We didn't have as many names and labels for things when I was growing up. But if I think about it, there were definitely kids that we thought were "odd" or "different" or a "little slow". I would venture to guess that if those same kids were tested now 30 years in the future, they would probably be diagnosed with some sort of autism.

no basis for this but i've always wondered if grandparents or great grandparents with allergies who smoked somehow damaged genes and passed them on.

edited
maybe that will link up to the older parental age factor too, who knows.

I just wanted to say, i'm picking up a negative vibe that people don't think early diagnois ( or any diagnosis?) or treatment is necessary. I think it does help not just so parents can feel better but to bring the child up to speed, no not every one will be on the level but if it were my kid i wouldn't give up on them and just write them off as quirky or dreamy. just like i wouldn't let my dd struggle with reading, or shoe tying.

I have not had the chance to read all the replies but I wanted to make 3 comments.

My girlfriend who has for over 20 years worked in a classroom that mixed autistic children in with "mainstream" (can't think of another word right now) children, told me(20 years ago) that they often found several of the children that were brought into the classroom because they weren't on the autism spectrum, ended up being autistic.

I heard from a mom recently that doctors are investigating whether a problem with oxygen supply during delivery is connected to autism.

The medical community does tend to modify diagnoses over time. I do think autism is more broadly defined than previously. And now schools have specialized teaching methods for children with the ASD diagnosis, so it really helps to get kids diagnosed. I think that is why we are hearing about autism so much more.

Just my 3 cents. I have wondered about this very question quite a lot myself.

There are a lot of things we just don't know. Period. And there is also more awareness. 40 years ago, people did not know why my friend's brother acted strangely. He wasn't mentally retarded, but he wasn't "right". Yet his twin sister behaved no differently than any other kid...it took them decades to get him properly diagnosed with high functioning Autism. And my friend's DH? If he were a kid now, he'd be diagnosed with Asperger's as a little kid. He was able to hold a job because he's brilliant in his field, but socially awkward. We even "joke" that my DH would probably have been diagnosed with ADHD as a kid (I do not think he has it, but he was quite a handful as a kid). So is it that there's more or we know more or...? It is too hard to say. I personally think there is a genetic component in some way - my friend's daughter has Autism, her brother has ADD and their sister has a mild form of Asberger's. But how that factors? I don't know. We don't know.

It could be a combination of things like our environment, vaccines (which children receive 74 shots by the age of 5), the use of plastics, preservatives etc. I keep reading about how Dr’s can diagnose it better now, but I have also read that the way they diagnose it has been the same since the 70's.
I also question all the radiation we are exposed to on a daily basis. Like TV’s, cell phones, microwaves, satellites, dental x-rays etc. There is a movie called “the Greater Good” and a doctor in it said that 1 in 6 American children has a neurological disorder.

personally I think that we now know what it is and we have a name for it so it is at least more recognized. Looking back before it had a name you could probably think of people who had/have it or are/were on the spectrum but there was no name so we just thought of the individual as "a little off" or in some cases "a lot off." in some cases I do think the term is thrown out as a blanket diagnosis when a doctor does not know what might be wrong. I know of at least 3 people who were diagnosed autistic only to have a different diagnosis of something different SEVERAL years later. And what they do have has been known for a lot longer than when autism was named. I have a nephew who is diagnosed with autism and his mother severely neglected him. There was also an Oprah show on kids who were severely neglected who are autistic. Did the neglect make them autistic or did it just make it worse? Who knows? but those kids never had a chance. And no I am not saying that all kids who have autism are neglected. My SIL's SIL has an Autistic son and she has done so much work with the school district on programs and her son is doing very well. If you did not know you could not tell. He was not nescessairly a low spectrum individual either.

I read a study, last fall I think, that said they found a genetic link to autism.

http://news.yahoo.com/possible-genetic-autism-identified-...

Of course what might cause the genetic mutation is probably something environmental....

It's the Dsm manual like Riley said.

I don't think there is an increase, we are just diagnosing it now, same with a lot of disorders that are there, they have been. I'm in my late 30's I can remember back when I was in elementary school about boys in my class that couldn't sit still, hyper and causing problems, now they call it ADHD. I had a mother in my office telling me how a friend of hers would say these things about her son, and she said maybe he should be evaluated for autism, well, mother then went into denial that her son wasn't. When he reached kindergarten the school evaluated him, and sure enough he was.

I honestly think that the artificial additives we pour into our bodies is what is causing these genes to mutate and make our children have issues like autism and so many more issues such as all the cases of extreme allergies.

I think that if artificial sweeteners can cause cancer then that proves they are not a safe substitute for someone who should just be watching the foods they eat and monitoring your own sugar and fats instead of putting fake junk in our bodies instead.

From what I understand, it's partially genetic, so the genes are passed on and more people develop it. Also, it's a spectrum, so there is a wider diagnosis criteria. Could also be environmental contributions. They are still discovering more and more about it. Visit autismspeaks.org - they have a lot of info, and may be able to connect you to some of the research that's being done on it as well.

The lady that vilified Dr. Wakefield does not have the entire story correct.
You might want to do a little research on Dr. Mercola's website if you are interested.
In regards to your question, first thing you learn in bio classes is that living things react to both genetics and the environment.
So no doubt there are BOTH genetic predisposition and environmental factors for the autism spectrum. Could be caused by one or the other or both in combination.
As far as vaccines, there is no doubt they are hard on the body, so how can anyone write that off that it might not contribute?
I had to stop vaccinating my kids. I had one of my kids' arms go purple and severely swollen from elbow to shoulder twice in a row from vaccines, to the point where we had to give him benadryl for days. And he is the one with sensory integration disorder and anxiety disorder. Wonder if things might have been different if we had not vaccinated? Sadly, we won't ever know, too late to take it back.

I recently read a study that suggested a maternal obesity as a cause for autism. I thought about all of the children I know with autism, and probably 80% of the mothers are obese.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120409103942...

You'll want to add cell phone radiation & wireless to your list of probably causes.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/1...

Here is an article regarding this. If you read the comment section, it explains some of the reasons why there has been such an increase in the numbers.
http://pediatrics.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2012/411/1

At one time only severe cases were diagnosed. With the "spectrum" added, a huge increase in the number of people diagnosed has occurred.

It may not be that there are actually more cases of autism, rather medical professionals are better at recognizing the signs/characteristics of this disorder and have become better at diagnosing it.