Research says Autism is NOT an epidemic

Myth: "Autism is an epidemic and the prevalence of autism is rising rapidly. We should all panic and quickly look for a cure before..."

...well who knows what people think is likely to happen if we don't eradicate autism. Maybe they're leaning towards a zombie apocalypse? It could explain the level of fear-mongering associated with discussions of autism prevalence rates.

Here's a previous article I wrote on the subject: > Click <

And here's an interesting research paper (actual scientific evidence) on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder amongst adults: > Click <

The gist of it? Prevalence is not related to age and adult rates are similar to that found in children.

A Note to Grandparents



Dear Grandparent,

How you involve yourself in the life of your autistic grandchildren can make or break your entire family. Parents of autistic children often have to distance themselves from negative family members, because of the harm it causes for their children to be around such influences.

Do you want to find yourself on the outer fringes of your children's and grand children's lives?

If you can admit to having said things like, "But there's nothing wrong with him," or, "A bit of discipline will fix that," or, "It's all in the parenting style," then sadly, you have to also admit that these are judgmental statements and you have been a negative influence in your family.

So you need to make a decision - do I want to have positive involvement or not? If your answer is yes, then I highly recommend the following page:

Especially for Grandparents... <--click!

An excerpt:

What if I don’t believe the diagnosis?
That’s your privilege. But keep in mind that the child’s parents believe it. They live and work with the child daily and are in a unique position to notice the deficits. Because they care deeply about that child’s future, they aren’t concerned about the stigma of a label, as long as it means the child is eligible for the specialized programming she needs. They have put their pride aside for the sake of the child and expect the same from the rest of the family.
Consider carefully what could possibly be gained by refusing to believe the diagnosis. Then consider what could be lost. The parents are already living with a great deal more stress than other parents, and they don’t need the added strain of skeptical or judgmental grandparents. Otherwise you may suddenly be faced with the pain of being unwelcome in your grandchild’s home.

The article is focussed on Asperger's Syndrome, but all of the content also applies to autism spectrum disorders in general. If you want to have positive relationships in your family, then I hope you will follow the instructions in that article.