Is Autism on the Rise?

Can we conclude from this article that autism is on the rise in the United States? The CDC claims that almost 1% of all American children are autistic because of a "mysterious cause."

To put this recent claim into perspective, a few weeks ago, the CDC also claimed that 1 out of 6 Americans have been infected by the Swine Flu, which does not at all jibe with my experience or that of my friends or family. If 1 out of 6 Americans have had swine flu, I would like to know where they are hiding out. Maybe in the CDC headquarters?

Once again, a statistic is being quoted in the media as though it were fact. Without knowing how the data was farmed, the statistic is without value to a reader. I am given a brief summary of the findings, and asked to accept it on face value because it came from an authority that supposedly knows more than everybody else. If that were so, then the CDC would have cured disease by now.

I would like to have read specific details about how the research was conducted, including how the numbers were crunched, by whom, and for what reasons. CDC's claim is that 2,757 out of 307,790 of a certain group have autism. Is the latter number the total number of "American citizens," or "immigrants, tourists, and American citizens" in the age group? Is the group the actual population, or is it merely considered representative of the actual population? The numbers may be based upon people who present to a medical provider. Out of 307,790 children that visit a doctor, 2,757 may have autism. What about the many others who never visit a doctor, or only visit on rare occasions? Was this numerous population of untreated children accounted for?

The data is based upon reports coming from just eleven sites. Could it be possible that parents of autistic children are migrating to urban areas where the CDC is headquartered in order to receive better treatment? Is it possible that populations that might not have been counted in the past are being counted today?

Assumptions make all the difference. I can take the same numbers, interpret them in a different manner, and claim that 99% of all American children are autistic or that .00001% of all American children are autistic. 90% of all Americans don't believe statistics, because 76% have discovered that statistics are 80% misinterpreted, 67% misleading, and 83% exaggerated in order to prove a point.

The media has a bad habit of pressing the panic button to sell copy. No wonder that so many people are skeptical of global warming, an important issue which suffers from "the boy who cried wolf" syndrome. I do not believe most of the things that I read in the media. Paranoia is rampant, because the media wants people to be afraid, because they will keep reading that way. Every writer fears boring a reader, first and foremost. Extreme exceptions are reported, instead of the mild and moderate generalities. Things are never as bad as the media makes them out to be.

More funds should be devoted to researching the potential causes and treatments of autism and other medical issues. Medical and scientific research represents a better use of scarce resources than foreign military engagements, in which billions of dollars are spent with little or nothing to show for it. Because conservative politicians have held the balance of power for so long in Washington, D.C., the government is focused more upon punishing than upon helping people who need help.