Half of All Children Will Be Autistic by 2025, Warns Senior Research Scientist at MIT (title)

a reply to: Annee

Really glad he got the support he needed as early diagnosis is vital to get the support. It's the way the system works unfortunately. I'm glad things seem to be working out.

originally posted by: daftpink Parents don't diagnose their own kids.

Wait, what?...Do you want to try that again?

Parents diagnosing their own children is a scourge of Autism research and treatment. It has filled the field with so much relentless BS .

originally posted by: Leonidas

originally posted by: daftpink Parents don't diagnose their own kids.

Wait, what?...Do you want to try that again?

Parents diagnosing their own children is a scourge of Autism research and treatment. It has filled the field with so much relentless BS .

Yes it would do but where I live that simply doesn't happen not sure about you? I work in the field and have family gone through the process so speaking from experience here. A parent cannot give a diagnosis of autism, it has to come from a relevant professional after years of waiting lists, assessments and reports from teachers etc. Many meetings will be held where the professional will talk with the child, observe the child and ask the child to carry out tasks such as testing for presence of Theory of Mind among other things like does the child fully understand jokes? These can vary depending on the child, the level of communication and the age of the child. A formal diagnosis is given based on all these factors, not just what the parents say or suggest. So I can't really see how parents alone can diagnose their kid.

What's your experience of it?

He should have said "By 2025 we're going to convince half of all parents that their kid has some vague disorder we can't even agree on how to define." Not buying for one minute this BS autism explosion. Some kids are just different, no need to put a name on it or try and drug or change them.

originally posted by: jaffo
He should have said "By 2025 we're going to convince half of all parents that their kid has some vague disorder we can't even agree on how to define." Not buying for one minute this BS autism explosion. Some kids are just different, no need to put a name on it or try and drug or change them.

Yep it's called neuro diversity and we need to accept that our brains, like our physical selves, are diverse and always will be. Sometimes we can define it into a spectrum or umbrella terms like we do with autism and other neurological conditions. Sometimes it's just who we are.

a reply to: daftpink

Jenny McCarthy.

originally posted by: daftpink
a reply to: Annee

Really glad he got the support he needed as early diagnosis is vital to get the support. It's the way the system works unfortunately. I'm glad things seem to be working out.

Thanks. He's "my guy". I am devoting my life to him.

His dad died of Cancer when he was a baby. His mom has to work.

I also had an ADD daughter, diagnosed way back in 1973. I/she were the lucky ones who connected with the right professional help.

She had a son who was very intelligent and very hyper.

Legitimate ADD and being a hyper kid are not the same thing.

Because of my experience with legitimate ADD, I prevented my older grandson from being medicated --- just because he was hyper.

You just have to wonder though, The increase of kids they call "Autistic" now a days. I think its pretty much increased, although in my day they didn't really use Autistic. They just pretty much said, "yeah that ones kinda slow, give em a year or two and they will catch up".

Also, this makes me curious how many of us older folks would have been labeled Autistic back in the day using today's methods? Maybe some of us could have these disorders but just never got it checked out and diagnosed? Its spotted and checked out these days a lot more due to awareness being high. Back then when I was going to school throughout the 80s, it was as I said above: "He/she is just slow and they'll be OK as they get older" etc and got tossed into Special Education and called it a day. Makes me wonder how many of us slipped through these "Diagnosed Disorder" cracks so to speak.

Does anyone here know of anyone that has been diagnosed with Autism or something similar after the age of 30?

a reply to: Bloodydagger

We have two dudes who were diagnosed in their 50's before that they had been sectioned under the mha and lived in some horrid conditions.
They have both been at our place for around 8 years and are doing a lot better.
But the experiences they have had have not helped them for the better.
Dam those old Asylums....

a reply to: 727Sky

Interesting, because when you really think about it, the gradual poisoning could be perceived as a "kinder, gentler" form of population control. You're not eradicating people right off the bat or making them physically sick in any way but taking into account the severity on the spectrum and the problem of social skills it's detrimental to individuals forming relationships and having offspring. Frighteningly effective and the "problem" would quietly take care of itself within a few generations.
Just a theory, though and a very disturbing one at that...

originally posted by: Bloodydagger

...

Also, part of it is that parents do not parent anymore. Instead, they let the TV, IPADs and video games do the parenting for them. This too can make children at young ages develop odd disorders.

...

I'm not sure where the popular opinion started (or the common belief) that the rise of neurological diagnosis has to do with lazy or 'bad' parenting. I can certainly understand the confusion and will humbly admit that I had my own range of ideas of where the rise in diagnosis was coming from, lazy parenting being one of the possibilities (along with food allergies, red food coloring, etc.).

I guess I really never gave it much thought, until the next time the topic came up (whether with friends' children or casual conversation). Then, I'd pipe up with my current fave reason the disorders were on the rise, which usually had some tinge of disbelief it (ADHD, Autism) actually existed.

See, my problem was that I didn't HAVE to think about it, research it, or live it. I was just an opinionated person (like many of us here at ATS) that loved discussing the latest current issues/events and hot-topic social debates.

To me, the 'every-thing-other-than-real-medical-science' theories made the most sense to me. Another thing that played into my thinking had to do with the 'psychological' aspect of diagnosis. I've always been weary of psychiatrists (still am). The title alone denotes 'behavioral issues' to me; therefore Autism and ADHD had to be 'behavioral' issues (in my mind). This was more than twenty years ago.

Well, back to the point of lazy or bad-parenting being a factor in over-diagnosing these particular neurological disorders. Believe me when I say that any lazy/bad parenting is so far off the mark on this and let me tell you why. While it could (that's a very miniscule could) play a part in originally diagnosing or attempting diagnosis, it definitely plays no part in the on-going management.

There is NO SUCH thing as a miracle drug or pill that will manage either disorder for anyone and most certainly not for any parent of a child of either disorder. A much better argument would be that these disorders are either under-diagnosed or not being managed, due to lazy and/or bad parenting. So many parents of these children end up having to choose which one will give up their career for the sake of the child. In many cases an extended family member takes on the role (as ATS member Annee has so graciously done) due to finances or single parent households. ADHD, Autism, and some other neurological disorders are very demanding of -parents that serve as advocates and managers.

I'm confident that if any child has been diagnosed and is under current treatment, that should be a sign that his/her guardian is very much involved in that child's daily well-being.

I am also confident that the majority of those very guardians are living under prejudicial conditions that has resulted in a very lonely and stressed lifestyle. I say this because too many people (myself included) in society has jumped to the most popular opinion of the causes, resulting in the very guardians having to fight harder, shout louder, and step up for the child that they are just too tired to wear and defend the label (lazy/bad) in their own personal social settings. They are usually the quietest ones at the table when others are 'debating' the causes.

So think about it, next time the topic comes up. Who is mysteriously 'non-opinionated' at the table? Order them a drink, they certainly need it.

im feeling autistic just thinking about it.

but seriously... so what? autism is awesome. you never hear of autistic kids assaulting people or selling drugs. what you do hear is autistic kids with amazing talents and creative minds. so yay Monsanto i guess?

originally posted by: AVoiceOfReason
im feeling autistic just thinking about it.

but seriously... so what? autism is awesome. you never hear of autistic kids assaulting people or selling drugs. what you do hear is autistic kids with amazing talents and creative minds. so yay Monsanto i guess?

If half the children are going to be autistic, doesn't that mean, then in a few years half the adults will be ,autistic. Then tell me how can the society as we know it function? Forget about any wars, as one half of the population will be protecting the other half. Sure we have the occasional Savants, but the majority are sadly not in this category.

a reply to: anonentity

autistic people function just fine. well i guess it depends on the severity of the autism. either way i wasnt really being serious.

originally posted by: AVoiceOfReason
a reply to: anonentity

autistic people function just fine. well i guess it depends on the severity of the autism. either way i wasnt really being serious.

Ok nicely said but my comment remains, have we a real problem with the increase in Autism or not? It seems so, but it goes so deep its a game changer,meaning that modern foods and polluted environments have a cumulative toxic effect on developing foetuses. This will effect the rich and powerful as well they are seeing the cracks in their gene pool as well.

a reply to: anonentity

my opinion is that its not a big deal.

i think you might be thinking a little bit too far into it.

originally posted by: AVoiceOfReason
a reply to: anonentity

my opinion is that its not a big deal.

i think you might be thinking a little bit too far into it.

Yeh I can do denial.