- Rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not creeping up so much as leaping up. New numbers just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that one in 68 children now has a diagnosis of ASD—a 30 percent increase in just two years. In 2002, about one in 150 children was considered autistic and in 1991 the figure was one in 500.
The staggering increase in cases of ASD should raise more suspicion in the medical community about its misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis than it does.
And some scientists say it's fetal ultrasound. Are Ultrasounds Causing Autism in Unborn Babies? Is prenatal Ultrasound the main cause of modern autism? > Then in August 2006, Pasko Rakic, chair of Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Neurobiology, announced the results of a study in which pregnant mice underwent various durations of ultrasound. The brains of the offspring showed damage consistent with that found in the brains of people with autism. The research, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, also implicated ultrasound in neurodevelopmental problems in children, such as dyslexia, epilepsy, mental retardation and schizophrenia, and showed that damage to brain cells increased with longer exposures Ultrasound and Autism—A Connection? >Some experts see financial motives behind frequent ultrasounds, which can cost up to several hundred dollars each and can represent significant revenue. http://www.wsj.com/articles/pregnant-women-get-more-ultrasounds-without-clear-medical-need-1437141219 the largest body of evidence on ultrasound safety is surprisingly human studies done in China. Since the studies were performed on women about to undergo elective abortions, the studies have controls (no ultrasound), and various levels of ultrasound exposure, at standard power levels (or lower) for diagnostic imaging ultrasound. The results: Diagnostic ultrasound is found to be extremely damaging to the fetus. Even very low power levels and exposure times cause cell death and cell damage. http://www.amazon.com/review/R2XI27GPH502Q6/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00X06QDYS&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text#wasThisHelpful
I don't understand what steps are taking with early diagnosis of ASD that wouldn't be benifical with any young kid. I think with child psychology there needs be a system for tentative diagnosis, and then children can be retested for disorders such as ASD amd ADHD once they've reached an age where development has become more stable. Reading the article, there doesn't seem to be a concrete enough idea of what is considered "standard" in early development to diagnose most patients in confidence. At least misdiagnosis of ASD seems relativley harmless as long as the child isn't raised to believe they lack the ability to develop normally. When children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, I wonder what kind of effect daily use of ritalin/adderal has on the developing brain.