Running head: THE STARTLING RISE OF AUTISM

The Startling Rise of Autism Rates,

and the Various Theories and Causes Behind It
Bryce Adams
Butler Community College

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Abstract
Autism is a disorder that has only been known and recognized for just a few decades. In past
years, it was generally said that every 1 in 10,000 children has autism. However, in recent years,
the number has skyrocketed to around 1 in 53 children. This can be attributed to a few things;
the fact that there are more toxic chemicals in the world than ever before, that awareness has
gone up, and that diagnostic tests and methods have become more advanced than ever.

The Startling Rise of Autism Rates,

And the Various Theories and Causes Behind It
The first belief for the rise is how there are thousands of chemicals that have been
introduced into the world in the past twenty years, without having been tested for neurological
effects, states Dr. Bryan Jepson, author of numerous books on autism (Bateman.) Bateman
wrote Autism Mitigating a Global Epidemic in 2014, comparing doctors with autistic
children and how they were diagnosed. Aside from there being a dangerous chemical rise that is
starting to affect children with autism (who cant detoxify as well as people without autism,)
Bateman also explains how biochemical as well as teaching interventions are hugely important.
described how her son David was born neurotypical with normal development until he
regressed at 15 months, leading to a diagnosis of severe autism. He lost eye contact, stopped
responding to his name, and lost his language ability. She intervened and helped to treat his
stomach problems, which immediately improved Davids life skills. His severe autism
symptoms remained, but were much recessed and not nearly as bad as they used to be. He now
uses an iPad to communicate his needs better. (Bateman.) This is a good example how Davids

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mother knew what would make her son better even though doctors just blew it off because they
simply werent educated.
The next factor in the rise is that diagnosis has advanced and exploded recently. In
Autism: Why the rise in rates? by Dr. Robert Zylstra, EdD, these theories are explained a bit
better. Zylstra states that the definitions and diagnostic criteria have evolved greatly over the
past few decades. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a
guide to diagnosing mental disorders. The first edition, published in 1952 had the word autism
in it only one time. The third edition released in 1980 had only barely given data about infantile
autism. Finally, in the Fifth edition, published in 2013, all forms of autism had been accounted
for, and grouped into one group, Autism Spectrum Disorder. (Zylstra.) The many different types
and severities of autism are easily consolidated into one. This helps doctors around the world
better learn and diagnose one single disorder, versus having many different types all with very
similar symptoms. Thus, increasing the diagnosis rate, but it is much more accurate now.
These two theories tie into the last and probably most important, which is the huge boom
in autism awareness. Back to Batemans article, he states, When I graduated in 2004, we had a
single, one-hour lecture on developmental disorders. Our pediatric textbook had one line on
autism in it. That means for at least those who graduated eight years ago, the awareness just
wasnt there. This shows just how uneducated some doctors were about autism until not long
ago. Zylstra believes this same theory, adding that early intervention has been helpful as well.
More parents are aware and bring their kids in earlier, which leads to early diagnosis, but also
leads to early intervention and help. This has been very helpful in childrens early health, like
David and his mother.

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Overall, autism is definitely a real world epidemic. It is on the rise, but it isnt
necessarily a bad thing. The rise in chemical usage isnt a good thing, but has lead more people
to be more cautious about their children, and diagnosis methods have been vastly improved in
the past few decades. Most importantly however, is simply awareness and early intervention.
Both Bateman and Zylstra give good real world examples of how autism is on the rise, and how
everybody can help.

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References
Bateman, C. (2014). AutismMitigating a Global Epidemic. In C. F. Naff (Ed.), At Issue. Why
Is Autism on the Rise?. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from South African
Medical Journal, 2013, May, 103[5])

Zylstra, R. G., Prater, C. D., Walthour, A. E., & Aponte, A. F. (2014, June). AUTISM Why the
rise in rates? Journal of Family Practice, 63(6), 316-320. Retrieved November 1, 2014.