Comment by RacingTheClock
1 day ago
I think 1 in 36 kids having autism is similar to how breast cancer diagnosis shot up when we had better imaging ability or when we figured out prostate cancer was actually fairly common in older men but not usually something worth doing anything about. When we merged in aspergers and autism together that obviously makes autism rates higher and as research continues on diagnosing autism it makes sense rates increase from there too? I mean in the past we thought autism was only common in boys!
I sincerely hope this is the explanation and I will be frustrated if this information is not presented as a percentage of the increase as part of the report. If it fully explains the increase, even better.
I agree that I’m frustrated that this isn’t being coveted. Asperger’s being moved into autism was huge news at the time, so idk how RFK missed something so obvious and is pointing to quackery like vaccines. I don’t understand how we got to the point where cranks are trying to to prove their assumptions instead of real scientists.
This is a very valid point, but one RFK has mention he controls for in the past
It's pretty much impossible to control for, because you don't know what you don't know. Meaning, you can't estimate how many people haven't been diagnosed in the past because, well, they weren't being diagnosed.