Posted on 05/04/2017 7:46:46 AM PDT by posterchild
Health officials in Minnesota have been scrambling to contain a measles outbreak that has sickened primarily Somali-American children in the state. So far health officials have identified 34 cases, still mostly in Hennepin County, and they're worried there will be more.
In Minnesota, the vast majority of kids under two get vaccinated against measles. But state health officials say most Somali-American 2-year-olds have not had the vaccine — about six out of ten. As the outbreak spreads, that statistic worries health officials, including Michael Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
I have a personal theory that autism is caused by toddlers chewing on toys from Mexico and China. The condition doesn’t show up until early childhood and autism is increasing exponentially.
Anyway, I’m not a doctor or researcher but seems to make as much sense as vaccinations.
My theory is, like always, authorities are dumbing down the definition of autism.
This ALWAYS happens.
Note how suddenly there’s an “autism spectrum”.
Gee, we are ALL on the autism spectrum!
It’s a bunch of crap, a cause celebre`. My special-ed teacher/principal mother thinks so too.
and I thought it was mooselimbs refusing vaccinations due to their satan worship fueling the outbreak - along with illegals.
I have a theory that its 95% moms who need attention after Alar apples turned out to be a nothing, and think also think they all have a little Sheldon Cooper.
This “autism” epidemic is pretty much restricted to America.
A French girl I spent a little time with recently was astonished at how many moms here claim an autism kid.
Besides, if you give a Somali autism, all you’ve really done is basically make them into a Yemeni or Saudi.
The Minnesota Somalis just keep giving and giving, don’t they.
Autism rates in the United States explained | Spectrum | Autism Research News - Scientific America
https://spectrumnews.org/news/autism-rates-united-states-explained/
Autism rates in the United States explained
by Jessica Wright 2 March 2017
The prevalence of autism in the United States has risen steadily since researchers first began tracking it in 2000. The rise in the rate has sparked fears of an autism ‘epidemic.’ But experts say the bulk of the increase stems from a growing awareness of autism and changes to the condition’s diagnostic criteria.
Here’s how researchers track autism’s prevalence and explain its apparent rise.
How do clinicians diagnose autism?
There is no blood test, brain scan or any other objective test that can diagnose autism — although researchers are actively trying to develop such tests. Clinicians rely on observations of a person’s behavior to diagnose the condition.
In the U.S., the criteria for diagnosing autism are laid out in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM). The criteria are problems with social communication and interactions, and restricted interests or repetitive behaviors. Both of these ‘core’ features must be present in early development.
What is the prevalence of autism in the U.S.?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 68 children in the U.S. have autism1. The prevalence is 1 in 42 for boys and 1 in 189 for girls. These rates yield a gender ratio of about five boys for every girl.
How does the CDC arrive at this number?
CDC researchers collect health and school records for 8-year-old children who live in select U.S. counties. These researchers are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which the CDC set up in 2000 to estimate autism prevalence.
Every two years, trained clinicians scan the records for signs of autism features, such as social problems or repetitive behaviors. They focus on 8-year-olds because most children are enrolled in school and have had routine health assessments by that age2. They then decide whether each child meets the criteria for autism, even if the child does not have a diagnosis, and extrapolate the results to all children in the state.
The most recent prevalence estimates are based on data from 11 network sites in 11 states. The CDC plans to focus on 10 of these sites for future assessment. At six of the sites, clinicians plan to survey the records of children at both 4 and 8 years of age.
How has autism prevalence changed over time?
The latest estimate of autism prevalence — 1 in 68 — is up 30 percent from the 1 in 88 rate reported in 2008, and more than double the 1 in 150 rate in 2000. In fact, the trend has been steeply upward since the early 1990s, not only in the U.S. but globally, says Maureen Durkin, who heads the network site in Wisconsin.
How accurate is the CDC’s approach?
The strength of the approach is that it takes a snapshot of all children who live in a certain area, not just those who have a diagnosis, according to Eric Fombonne, professor of psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. But, he notes, relying on school and medical records is not as accurate as assessing a child in person.
The approach also misses children who have no school or medical records, including some who are home-schooled or live in isolated regions. And children within the monitored areas may not be representative of all children in a state.
One indication that the method is imperfect is the fact that autism rates vary dramatically between states. The prevalence in Colorado, for instance, is 1 in 93 children, whereas in New Jersey it is 1 in 41. It is unlikely that the rates naturally vary that much between states, Fombonne says. Instead, the difference probably reflects varying levels of autism awareness and of services offered in those states.
Has our definition of autism changed over the years?
How people think about and diagnose autism has changed substantially since the diagnosis was first introduced nearly 75 years ago. In 1943, Leo Kanner first coined the term ‘infantile autism’ to describe children who seemed socially isolated and withdrawn.
In 1966, researchers estimated that about 1 in 2,500 children had autism, according to criteria derived from Kanner’s description3. This and other early estimates of prevalence probably focused on children at the severe end of the spectrum and missed those with subtler features.
Autism didn’t make its debut in the DSM until 1980. In 1987, a new edition expanded the criteria by allowing a diagnosis even if symptoms became apparent after 30 months of age. To garner a diagnosis, a child needed to meet 8 of 16 criteria, rather than all 6 of the previous items4. These changes may have caused the condition’s prevalence to tick above 1 in 1,4005.
Then, in 1991, the U.S. Department of Education ruled that a diagnosis of autism qualifies a child for special education services. Before this time, many children with autism may instead have been listed as having intellectual disability. The change may have encouraged families to get a diagnosis of autism for their child. The number of children who have both a diagnosis of autism and intellectual disability has also risen steadily over the years6.
In 1994, the fourth edition of the DSM broadened the definition of autism even further, by including Asperger syndrome on the milder end of the spectrum. The current version, the DSM-5, was released in 2013, and collapsed autism, Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified into a single diagnosis.
The most recent CDC estimate of autism prevalence is based on the fourth edition of the DSM. Future estimates will be based on DSM-5 criteria — which may lower autism rates.
Has the rising awareness of autism contributed to the prevalence?
Increased awareness of autism has undoubtedly contributed to its rise in prevalence, Durkin says.
Until the 1980s, many people with autism were institutionalized, rendering them effectively invisible. Studies show that parents who are aware of autism’s presentation — by living near someone with the condition, for example — are more likely to seek a diagnosis for their children than parents with no knowledge of the condition. Living close to urban centers and having access to good medical care also boost the likelihood of diagnosis.
Greater awareness of autism is also likely to boost CDC estimates by increasing the chances that autism traits, such as lack of eye contact, show up in school and medical records, says Fombonne.
Policy changes may have also played a role. In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening all children for autism during routine pediatrician visits at 18 and 24 months of age. This move may have led to diagnoses for children who would otherwise have slipped under the radar.
Are there other factors that have influenced prevalence?
Many individuals diagnosed with autism may, in the past, have been misdiagnosed with other conditions, such as intellectual disability: As diagnoses of autism have risen, those of intellectual disability have decreased.
What’s more, a diagnosis of autism gives children greater access to specialized services and special education than do diagnoses of other conditions. This benefit makes clinicians more likely to diagnose a child with autism, even those who are on the borderline of the clinical criteria.
Prior versions of the DSM did not allow for children to be diagnosed with both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The DSM-5 allows multiple diagnoses, and most children with developmental delay are routinely screened for autism.
Autism prevalence has traditionally been highest in white children in the U.S, but this is starting to change. African-American and Hispanic children have lower rates of diagnosis because of a lack of access to services. Widespread screening has improved detection of autism in these groups, and raised overall prevalence.
Is there no real increase in autism rates, then?
Awareness and changing criteria probably account for the bulk of the rise in prevalence, but biological factors might also contribute, says Durkin. For example, having older parents, particularly an older father, may boost the risk of autism. Children born prematurely also are at increased risk of autism, and more premature infants survive now than ever before.
Syndication
This article was republished in Scientific American.
References:
Christensen D.L. et al. MMWR Surveill. Summ. 65, 1-23 (2016) PubMed
Boat T.F., Wu J.T. (Eds.). (2015). Mental disorders and disabilities among low-income children. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. PubMed
Rutter M. Acta Paediatr. 94, 2-15 (2005) PubMed
Volkmar F.R. et al. Am. J. Psychiatry 145, 1404-1408 (1988) PubMed
Fombonne E. Pedatr. Res. 65, 591-598 (2009) PubMed
King M. and P. Bearman Int. J. Epidemiol. 38, 1224-1234 (2009) PubMed
TAGS: autism, diagnosis, DSM-5, DSM-IV, epidemiology, intellectual disability, prevalence
Sometimes they seem to go from disease to disease and made us panic about each and every one of them. When my children were just entering school ADHD was all the rage. All of the children who for some reason or other were put on Ritalin. Ritalin turns out to be an amphetamine. We were addicting our children to amphetamines and now we wonder why they are so easily addicted to other drugs. When I was in grade school, only one or two children in the entire school were “wild” enough for even the kids to see there was a need for something more than simple discipline. Now it seems that if our children are developing not quite fast enough we drug them. I’m not sure how this relates to autism ( which I believe is a serious problem) but I think time will tell and I’m fairly certain that the drug companies will somehow be involved again.
Nooooo it’s the slimy mussies causing the problem
the pleasures of diversity
True a few kids of the anti vaccine crowd were infected, but the majority of measles cases in MN are in Somali children. Ironic that Somali parents will travel out of state to have a “doctor” mutilate their daughters genitals, but won’t get to their kids vaccinated.
Note - The following international study indicates evidence aborted infant cells used in vaccines may be implicated in increased autism rates:
http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/C98151247042Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology
Google Scholar h5-index: 13
Article Menu
• J. Public Health Epidemiol.
• Vol. 6 No. 9
Abstract
Authors
Other Articles by Authors:
Theresa A. Deisher*
Ngoc V. Doan
Angelica Omaiye
Kumiko Koyama
Sarah Bwabye
Article Number - C98151247042
Vol.6(9), pp. 271-286 , September 2014
DOI: 10.5897/JPHE2014.0649
ISSN: 2141-2316
Full Length Research Paper
Impact of environmental factors on the prevalence of autistic disorder after 1979
Theresa A. Deisher*
Ngoc V. Doan
Angelica Omaiye
Kumiko Koyama
Sarah Bwabye
Received: 13 May 2014 Accepted: 09 July 2014 Published: 01 September 2014
Copyright © 2014 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate a previously overlooked, universally introduced environmental factor, fetal and retroviral contaminants in childhood vaccines, absent prior to change points (CPs) in autistic disorder (AD) prevalence with subsequent dose-effect evidence and known pathologic mechanisms of action. Worldwide population based cohort study was used for the design of this study. The United States, Western Australia, United Kingdom and Denmark settings were used. All live born infants who later developed autistic disorder delivered after 1 January 1970, whose redacted vaccination and autistic disorder diagnosis information is publicly available in databases maintained by the US Federal Government, Western Australia, UK, and Denmark. The live births, grouped by father’s age, were from the US and Australia. The children vaccinated with MMRII, Varicella and Hepatitis A vaccines varied from 19 to 35 months of age at the time of vaccination. Autistic disorder birth year change points were identified as 1980.9, 1988.4 and 1996 for the US, 1987 for UK, 1990.4 for Western Australia, and 1987.5 for Denmark.
Change points in these countries corresponded to introduction of or increased doses of human fetal cell line-manufactured vaccines, while no relationship was found between paternal age or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) revisions and autistic disorder diagnosis.
Further, linear regression revealed that Varicella and Hepatitis A immunization coverage was significantly correlated to autistic disorder cases. R software was used to calculate change points.
-> Autistic disorder change points years are coincident with introduction of vaccines manufactured using human fetal cell lines, containing fetal and retroviral contaminants, into childhood vaccine regimens.
This pattern was repeated in the US, UK, Western Australia and Denmark. Thus, rising autistic disorder prevalence is directly related to vaccines manufactured utilizing human fetal cells. Increased paternal age and DSM revisions were not related to rising autistic disorder prevalence. <-
Key words: Autism disorder, change point, vaccine, paternal age.
References
How to cite this article
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Agree with your Ritalin and drug theory. I think one of the results is the current new phenomena of spree-style mass shootings. The shooters have been on a combo of speed and SSRI drugs for a decade plus.
The homicidal and suicidal ideation warnings are right on the packages.
Some of these kids are on it from the first two or three years of elementary school.
“This is NPR, blaming “anti-science Right Wingers”, for the diseases indroduced & spread by filthy immigrants & “refugees”.”
The antivaxxers are being idiots though. They claim diseases are coming in from immigrants. And never seem to explain why those diseases were eradicated here, and are still extant in the immigrant homelands.
The immigrants STILL have all those diseases because they aren’t vaccinated.
Blaming immigrants for the renaissance of the old diseases is essentially admitting that vaccines are good.
Yeah..... autism fears..... that’s it.
They wanted to put my son on it because he wasn’t “concentrating”. I didn’t do it. He is now a senior in high school with a 4.59 GPA and will be attending Xavier in the fall for Pre Med. I thank my lucky stars every day I used my common sense on that one. I find this stuff UNFORGIVABLE!!!!
Here we have yet another negative impact from (collectively) "immigrants" and surprise, it's not the fault of immigrants. THEY, should be vaccinated. Why should we/I suffer the consequences ?
For disclosure, personnaly, I don't like the vaccinations for anything & everything approach. The benefit or r.o.i., must be worth it.
Oh my goodness, the measles is so dangerous for children to catch. . . . . sarcasm alert. . . .
It might have something to do with the 62 doses of vaccines our children are hit with, for about 20 difference vaccinations.
Seriously, the vaccination side effects are worse than the diseases. With proper sanitation, and modern medicine a first world nation has nothing but an influx of disease ridden people to fear.
My grandfathers twin brother was kept in quarantine on Ellis Island long enough that his family left him behind for adoption or have the lot of them sent back to Germany. This country used to take the health of immigrants seriously before allowing them access to public places.
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