Jennifer Singh is an assistant professor in the School of History, Technology, and Society. Her research focuses on the social and scientific understandings of diseases, including autism, based on emerging medical technologies. April is Autism Awareness month and Monday, April 2 is Autism Awareness Day.
On Thursday, March 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported new prevalence estimates for autism. Based on evaluations of children drawn from 14 states, the report estimates that one child in 88 received a diagnosis in 2008. These numbers are more than 20 percent higher than the 2006 estimates of one in 110 and nearly double the numbers since the CDC started tracking these estimates.
Questions remain however as to why there has been such an increase in autism. Many agree that the increase is partly due to the increased awareness of autism over the last decade. We see an increasing presence of autism on billboards and buses. We hear stories from famous actors, public service announcements and even during primetime television. Autism is everywhere. Furthermore, the diagnosis of autism expanded with the publication of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is now included under an umbrella of pervasive developmental disorders along with Asperger’s disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified, Child Disintegrative Disorder and Rett Syndrome, hence the term “autism spectrum disorder.
A tremendous amount of money has also been funneled to support autism research including the passage of Combating Autism Act of 2006, which authorized nearly $945 million towards autism research, treatment and services. To top it off, there is a federal mandate through the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) that requires educational services to individuals diagnosed with autism, providing parent incentive to get an autism diagnosis. This in turn has sparked a new generation of diagnosticians and therapists that specialize in autism.
But can the increase in awareness, a broadening of the diagnosis and policies that address research and education account for this dramatic rise or are there true increases in the prevalence of autism? This is the million-dollar question researchers are anxiously awaiting to answer. As a result of this report, Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism advocacy group, officially declared autism an epidemic in the United States. It may be a coincidence that this report coincides with World Autism Awareness Day, but timing is everything and autism is once again a force to be reckoned with.
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