Explain the Rise in Autism

[debeest]

More frequently diagnosed -- yep.

Mercury from vaccines debunked -- yep.

Related to paternal age -- yep, according to one recent study.

Fully explained by diagnostic changes? Not clear.

[Proteus_MST]

Abusing the TV as Babysitter
may be one of the reasons, too

[duke o' york]

Posting in Off-Topic forums across the internet is both a recognisable symptom of autism, and a factor in causing its development.

[Odin]

I'm pretty sure Autism-spectrum disorders are at least partially genetic, Autism and Asperger's Syndrome is unusually common in my mom's side of the family.

[Jon Miller]

We have a lot more chemicals in our systems than we use to. Some from outside sources, and some from things we intake on purpose.

JM

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Odin
I'm pretty sure Autism-spectrum disorders are at least partially genetic, Autism and Asperger's Syndrome is unusually common in my mom's side of the family.

Indeed. They're almost certainly related to brain development and brain chemical balance, which would be genetic. More than likely one reason for increased autism (in addition to the obvious diagnostic reason) is that autistic people are more likely to have children nowadays ...

[Meticulous Man]

Found this article through googling...

More than just genes

A closer look at a well-understood example, however, suggests that the causes of behavior may be complex combinations of genetic and environmental influences -- that is, a mixture of nature and nurture:

* Children who inherit two copies of a mutated form of a single gene on chromosome 12 will be unable to break down the amino acid phenylalanine, a common component of food proteins.
* If this deficiency, called phenylketonuria (PKU), goes undetected, the child will develop mental retardation, a condition with obvious behavioral consequences. Thus, a single gene can have profound effects on behavior, in this case by disrupting normal behavior.
* Fortunately, a routine test conducted on every newborn in the United States can detect PKU shortly after birth, and a special diet that eliminates phenylalanine can prevent retardation.
* In the case of PKU, geneticists have determined that retardation is due to genetics (a mutated phenylalanine hydroxylase gene) and the environment (a phenylalanine-containing diet).

This simple example illustrates how reductionist thinking can be misleading. If we only focused on the gene, which we cannot change, we would miss the importance of the environment, which we can change.

On a related note, I was just reading psychoanalyst Erich Fromm's book "The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness". There he claims that autistic children exemplify what he calls necrophilia, interest in dead matter over living things. Basically, autistic children, according to him, are incapable of forming a "benevolent incestuous relationship" with the mother which is the basis of all human relationships later on and because of this they will see other people more or less as dead matter. Fromm also claims that "necrophilia" coincides with interest in technology and all things mechanical. Just found this interesting as obsession about technical subjects is one of the most often heard clichés about Asperger's Syndrome. The book is written in 1973, well before the Asperger's craze.

[chequita guevara]

They have discovered that the old a father tends to be when contributing his spearm, the great incidence of autism among offsping. A 40-year had a 50% greater chance (remember, it's a very small chance), of having autistic kids than a father in his 20s.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Aivo½so
Found this article through googling...



On a related note, I was just reading psychoanalyst Erich Fromm's book "The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness". There he claims that autistic children exemplify what he calls necrophilia, interest in dead matter over living things. Basically, autistic children, according to him, are incapable of forming a "benevolent incestuous relationship" with the mother which is the basis of all human relationships later on and because of this they will see other people more or less as dead matter. Fromm also claims that "necrophilia" coincides with interest in technology and all things mechanical. Just found this interesting as obsession about technical subjects is one of the most often heard clichés about Asperger's Syndrome. The book is written in 1973, well before the Asperger's craze.

"Benevolent incestuous relationship?" Sounds like Freudian crap.

[Dis]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/16/autism.genes.reut/index.html

mutated gene article.

[joncha]

9-11 changed everything.

[MRT144]

also we arent killing off autistic children at nearly the rate that we used to. our prolonged lifespans due to improved medicine also contributes to the rise in things like cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, old age being medical problems seen on the rise.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by joncha
9-11 changed everything.

[BeBMan]

[Arrian]

Better/broader diagnosis is an obvious plausible reason. Probably combined with some others (age of daddy, etc).

-Arrian