Time: For the First Time, a Census of Autistic Adults (There is no "Epidemic")

[Odin2005]

I repeat, THERE IS NO EPIDEMIC!!!

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1927415,00.html

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Among the many great mysteries of autism is this: Where are all the adults with the disorder? In California, for instance, about 80% of people identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are 18 or under. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) indicate that about 1 in 150 children in the U.S. have autism, but despite the fact that autism is by definition a lifelong condition, the agency doesn't have any numbers for adults. Neither has anyone else. Until now.

On Sept. 22, England's National Health Service (NHS) released the first study of autism in the general adult population. The findings confirm the intuitive assumption: that ASD is just as common in adults as it is in children. Researchers at the University of Leicester, working with the NHS Information Center found that roughly 1 in 100 adults are on the spectrum — the same rate found for children in England, Japan, Canada and, for that matter, New Jersey.

This finding would also appear to contradict the commonplace idea that autism rates have exploded in the two decades. Researchers found no significant differences in autism prevalence among people they surveyed in their 20s, 30s, 40s, right up through their 70s. "This suggests that the factors that lead to developing autism appear to be constant," said Dr. Terry Brugha, professor of psychiatry at the University of Leicester and lead author of the study. "I think what our survey suggests doesn't go with the idea that the prevalence is rising."

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Can we stop with the "Epidemic" scaremongering now?

[hunter]

1. My family hid it all away.

I go back in my family history and there are quite a few people who were obviously autistic, to the point of not talking to anyone and avoiding all social interactions, just as there were some who were homosexual. Most everything like that was hidden away in the closet, not to be talked about.

My four grandparents were somewhat functional in normal society, they were "respectable people" but at home their lives were a horrible mess of autism, OCD, depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol addiction. All four had had relatives who were entirely nonfunctional and living in their own little worlds, often supported by those members of the family who were functional. One of my grandmothers became a hoarder, just like those you see on the TLC freak shows.

My grandparent's generation didn't have an understanding of what was going on, or modern drugs to keep them stable, but that's not what ruined so many of them. The deadliest thing for them was the fear and the shame.

Most people my age never got a diagnosis. I was simply a weird shy clumsy kid with a speech disorder. I could read when I entered kindergarten, so when the rest of the class was learning their ABC's I'd go to see the speech therapist or go to the special class for weird kids where we would practice our "posture" and "motions" and play games like "Simon Says."

To this day I still hate Simon Says, especially if it has anything to do with direction. Simon says turn left, Simon says turn right, DAMN!, it still takes me a good second or two to process commands like that and come up with an appropriate response that's not sitting down on the floor, turning away from the teacher, and banging my fists against something.

[Odin2005]

2. I have several relatives on my mom's side who are on the spectrum.

I have an uncle with AS, an aunt who is a non-verbal autistic, and my mom is certain that my grandfather had AS.