Autism

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Autism
Part I
To understand whether Autism is an epidemic, it is essential to go to the beginning. During the 20th century, Autism was used to describe why schizophrenia patients were withdrawn from society. Over forty years later, Autism was used in describing childhood disorders of children lacking interaction skills. In the current world, the scope has broadened, and doctors include a wide variety of different conditions, using the term Autism Spectrum Disorder (Gid 1). People did not have awareness about symptoms that are involved in the disorder. The ‘autism epidemic’ is untrue because research reveals that the number of autism diagnosis has not increased. The reason why there are many cases is that the autism umbrella has expanded.
Research has increased the symptoms of the disorder, and children who would not have been diagnosed in the past, now have fallen under the umbrella. Researchers from the University of Queensland were interested in the sudden rise in autism disorder and studied the number of autism cases between 1990 and 2010 (Autism Speaks 1). Their focus was on symptoms nit diagnosis, and they discovered that nothing had changed over those years. When the determination is taking out of the equation, the autism rate is still at 0.75%. Moreover, the research reveals that autism is not an epidemic but rather, the increase the knowledge about the symptoms that describe the disorder (Gid 1). The media is the primary distributor of autism is an epidemic.

This misinformation has caused panic among society, which is not good if the disorder should be controlled. With the influence it has, the media should use the platform to educate their audience on how autism is diagnosed and how to quickly spot the symptoms.
The other reason why the cases of autism have increased is due to “diagnostic switching”. There were young individuals who in the past may have been diagnosed with diseases, but the broadening of the autism disorder has shifted their symptoms. Consequently, children are being diagnosed at a younger age than before. This is because doctors and parents have a better understanding of the symptoms, hence they spot them at an early stage. It is a positive thing that diagnosis is made earlier since the child has received treatment to control the disorder. In the past, parents would spend a lot of time in hospitals unaware of the illness their children suffered. The wrong diagnosis only made the situation harder; hence, awareness has helped increase medical facilities ready to offer help.
Part II
The statement “If you have seen one child with Autism, all that you have seen is one child with Autism” means that people are different. There are different kinds of autism, which involve Asperger’s syndrome, autism disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive development disorder (WebMD 1). A child could have a problem interacting with other people or lack interest in thing but still have a high intelligence score. Additionally, the child may also develop communication skills and become more involved in life than before. It is, therefore, wrong to assume that a child has an autism disorder because they seem withdrawn and anti-social. It is common for children less than three years have an “imaginary friend” who they play with and see as a friend to talk to. This should not be alarming since that is a young age to examine autism or conclude that the child has the disorder.
Works Cited
Autism Speaks. “CDC increases the estimate of autism’s prevalence by 15 percent, to 1 in 59 children.” Autism Speaks. What is Autism, 26 April 2018, www.autismspeaks.org/science-news/cdc-increases-estimate-autisms-prevalence-15-percent-1-59-children
Gid.M.K. “There Is No Autism Epidemic.” The Medium. Natural News, 28 March 2018, www.medium.com/the-method/there-is-no-autism-epidemic-85974967d1de
WebMD. “What are Pervasive Developmental Disorders?” WebMD, Autism. 2018, www.webmd.com/brain/autism/development-disorder