May 2017, British Medical Journal: Autism spectrum disorder: updated prevalence and comparison of two birth cohorts in a nationally representative Australian sample The higher prevalence of parent-reported and teacher-reported ASD diagnosis in the later-born cohort may be partially explained by identifying children with milder behavioural problems as ASD and a change in the use of diagnostic categories in schools. … Previous research has suggested that increased ASD prevalence may be due to the identification of cases with milder impairment. … CONCLUSIONS These longitudinal findings point to the changing nature of ASD between the late 1990s, when the first cohort were born, and today, with changes occurring before 2013, when the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental disorders was launched, including for the first time ASD as a diagnosis. This study highlights the complexities involved in understanding changes in the reported prevalence of ASD that are likely to be multifactorial. It has provided evidence in Australia of changes in diagnostic preferences and a broadening of the spectrum and that differences in service requirements can influence prevalence estimates. May 2, 2017, Autism Epidemic, or is There? Community Voice: There’s an of Kansas' African-American community) (“Leading voice An often overlooked alternative explanation for the epidemic: changes in diagnostic practices. Over time the criteria for a diagnosis of autism have loosened, resulting in the labeling of substantially more mildly afflicted individuals as autistic. Swapped Diagnoses A 2006 article by University of Wisconsin Madison psychologist Paul Shattuck cited diagnostic substitution: as the rates of the autism diagnosis increased from 1994 to 2003, the rates of diagnoses of mental retardation and learning disabilities decreased. It is possible that the overall pool of children with autism-like features has remained constant but that the specific diagnoses within this pool have switched. Most experts will agree, it is still too early to exclude the possibility that autism's prevalence is growing, but it is unlikely that it is growing as swiftly as many have suggested.
May 2017, British Medical Journal: Autism spectrum disorder: updated prevalence and comparison of two birth cohorts in a nationally representative Australian sample The higher prevalence of parent-reported and teacher-reported ASD diagnosis in the later-born cohort may be partially explained by identifying children with milder behavioural problems as ASD and a change in the use of diagnostic categories in schools. … Previous research has suggested that increased ASD prevalence may be due to the identification of cases with milder impairment. … CONCLUSIONS These longitudinal findings point to the changing nature of ASD between the late 1990s, when the first cohort were born, and today, with changes occurring before 2013, when the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental disorders was launched, including for the first time ASD as a diagnosis. This study highlights the complexities involved in understanding changes in the reported prevalence of ASD that are likely to be multifactorial. It has provided evidence in Australia of changes in diagnostic preferences and a broadening of the spectrum and that differences in service requirements can influence prevalence estimates. May 2, 2017, Community Voice: There’s an Autism Epidemic, or is There? (“Leading voice of Kansas' African-American community) An often overlooked alternative explanation for the epidemic: changes in diagnostic practices. Over time the criteria for a diagnosis of autism have loosened, resulting in the labeling of substantially more mildly afflicted individuals as autistic. Swapped Diagnoses A 2006 article by University of Wisconsin Madison psychologist Paul Shattuck cited diagnostic substitution: as the rates of the autism diagnosis increased from 1994 to 2003, the rates of diagnoses of mental retardation and learning disabilities decreased. It is possible that the overall pool of children with autism-like features has remained constant but that the specific diagnoses within this pool have switched. Most experts will agree, it is still too early to exclude the possibility that autism's prevalence is growing, but it is unlikely that it is growing as swiftly as many have suggested.
prominent-news-outlets.docx