Fagan Says Autism Numbers Are Fakin'
By Anne Dachel
Psychology Today just announced that having more kids with autism around doesn’t really mean there is more autism in the world.
Abigail Fagan, an associate editor at P.T., asked the question in the headline of her June 3rd story: Do Environmental Changes Explain the Rise in Autism Diagnoses?
The answer is a resounding NO! THERE HAVE BEEN NO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES.
Sure the numbers are up.
The rise in autism diagnoses has been steady and striking. In the 1960s, roughly 1 in 10,000 people was diagnosed with autism. Today, 1 in 54 children has the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the rise in the U.S. is mirrored in countries around the world.
Don’t worry, nothing is really wrong.
Anyone out there, like me, who’s been hanging around this issue for the last two decades knows exactly how Fagan proves her claim: More kids have an autism label because of better diagnosing, greater awareness, expanded spectrum.
That fact that there is no end in sight to the exponential autism increases doesn’t bother Fagan. More and more and more kids landing on the autism spectrum just means doctors continue to get better and better at recognizing the disorder, teachers and parents are more aware than previous teachers and parents were and changes in the official diagnosis which was expanded to include Aspergers Syndrome in 1994 and then narrowed in 2013 insures that everyone will be confused as to what exactly autism is.
What isn’t happening, according to Fagan:
There is no environmental factor contributing to kids developing autism. Mostly autism is genetic and it’s always been here and it always will be.
I won’t bother you with long quotations for her piece. Here are highlights.
“…some estimates place the heritability at 80 percent.” ,
“… genetic and environmental contributions did not significantly shift over time.”
“[Specific environmental factors] are not responsible for the surge in diagnoses.”
“…there was no significant difference in autism prevalence between children and adults.”
‘We’re diagnosing autism 10 to 50 times more now than we were 25 years ago.’
“If genetic and environmental factors have remained steady over time, cultural and diagnostic shifts must be responsible for the spike in prevalence, Taylor says.”
“Both families and clinicians today are likely more aware of autism and its symptoms than in past decades, making diagnosis more likely.
“Changes in diagnostic criteria also play a role.”
Of course Ms Fagan’s claims are idiotic and baseless. What she and all those in the media covering up the autism epidemic can never do is show us the one in 54 adults with autism—all those she assures us are out there somewhere. She doesn’t even bother to look.
I can go into any grade school in my town and find kids on the spectrum. I can easily pick out the characteristic symptoms. What I can’t do is go to a local nursing home and find the elderly residents with autism.
When we read about the latest autistic “man” who wanders off and drowns, the story usually reveals someone in their 20s.
The only hope for people like Fagan who fabricate the myth of autism always being with us, we just didn’t realize it—is that their ridiculous claim will hold up until the children and young adults with autism become middle aged and elderly and we don’t remember a world without a group home for autistic adults on every other street. And when that day comes we’ll have to convince ourselves that it’s always been like this.
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
Will and Benedetta,
I think it's very sad that Will has these serious diagnoses, and has had such problems in his young life. I also think it's OK for him to come on here and give an opinion, which may be different from that of many others who write in these columns. I have autism which has completely wrecked my life, but I've been refused a diagnosis four times and then gave up, so I can't agree that autism is over diagnosed. It is often invisible to those who don't know what to look for. You may say, it's not invisible in MY child, but I suspect many people who don't know autism just see those signs as bad upbringing! When I learned first aid with the Red Cross aged 13, the first lesson was, Signs are what you see, and Symptoms what the patient tells you. So what if the patient can't speak, or can't express her symptoms? I would say to Will, have you read any books about autism? You will find that one of the main symptoms is being gullible to believing whatever you're told. I still have to struggle with this myself, and my advice to young sufferers is, question everything, and listen to both sides.
Posted by: Grace Green | June 07, 2020 at 10:22 AM
Bernadetta when did I talk about Republicans? Never in my recent post. I have a right to my opinions. Yes the autism label is often used in a racist way. Did you look up to condition I told you. Have some darn empathy for other disabilities "autism" parents.
Posted by: Will | June 07, 2020 at 09:30 AM
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/16/asia/china-vaccine-scandal-doses-intl/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3TwmkRKo-11HMYghtAdUi9L6gSZg1r4cdO6Ij0j5nwj-vOOtrAfY4pNrI
Posted by: Shelley | June 07, 2020 at 01:48 AM
Will;
I see that you are able to come on here and type a complete paragraph.
Plus you come on here, it would seem to pick a fight.
But then you have a very narrowed opinion and all so sure that you are correct and you have a need to straighten us all out.
You have not seen the things that we have seen, listen and learn.
You state that you think parents seek out a disability claim for their child. LOL.
You state that vaccine injuries are rare. Yeah, most of us thought that too at one time. Joke on me, and you too . Yet you know so little about any of it that you actually told us that we can sue the vaccine companies for injuries. LOL. No, you can not. Do you understand that right was taken away from us in 1985 by Congress. Do you understand now?
.
You are also ignorant on your presumptions of why a left or right wing parent would want a child to be diagnosed as autism. You played into the presumptions that if a person leans to the right that they are prejudiced.
Is a Republican's prejudiced? A lot of Democrats says so. So you are saying that a Republican or some one that leans to the right is saying Oh, my child has autism, but those blacks and Native Americans are all just retarded.
Really?
I would not think that a person that watched their child have a vaccine reaction, and knows it is delayed as well as sick is thinking much on what some one else is calling their child?
Oh, and Vaccine injuries are not rare but common.
Now what is a vaccine injury?
Do you know?
Posted by: Benedetta | June 06, 2020 at 06:28 PM
Like it is any of your guys business but I am a person with autism who was diagnosed by a Harbor Regional Center doctor in 2001. Before about 2000 or 2005 depending on who you ask the diagnostic criteria for autism with or without Asperger's syndrome was more "conservative", so the diagnosis were less dubious then they are now. I am not the only person with this opinion. Many parents of young adults with autism have a belief related to autism being over diagnosed. I also have the genetic tumor disease called Neuro fibromatosis which I dare you guys to look up on the internet before you question the integrity of my disability and honesty. An I have no children myself but was a child recently as I am barly grown and remeber alot of things related to my childhood.
Posted by: Will | June 06, 2020 at 01:15 PM
@Shelly
Not to mention the nano-particles found in all vaccines. These are highly inflammatory, and difficult for the body to clear. https://medcraveonline.com/IJVV/new-quality-control-investigations-on-vaccines-micro--and-nanocontamination.html
Posted by: Tim Lundeen | June 06, 2020 at 01:03 PM
And Will;
Sue the vaccine maker.
Really?
How do I go about that when the United States Government, the federal government paying big, smart. powerful lawyers stands between little o'le me that is financially strapped to begin and vaccine manufacturers?
Please tell me, cause I would like to know.
Posted by: Benedetta | June 06, 2020 at 11:27 AM
Will;
Do you have children?
IF not let me tell you how it is.
You don't tell the school, the school tells you.
You don't get to choose between autism and OCD, speech delays; you are told.
The schools don't say autism they say PDD-NOS, in which no one or parent knows what that is.
As I a very educated person, just didn't know for years after receiving that diagnosis in the first grade, and then it was the school secretary when he was in the 8th grade!
Left leaning, or right leaning; you not only want something better for them than you had it, but you want them to be better than you.
Faster, smarter, quicker, kinder, more successful, more independent, a full life that includes a spouse, children, happy; happy and a job. .
And when the school system tell you; and you are told ; not you telling them, it is because a teacher gets to sit in a room and observe all of the kiddos that come in and then mentions them to the school psychologists. Even if a teacher such as my son's math teacher thinks that he is a good little math student doesn't know, then we have a school psychologist that comes in and test them all and then tells the teacher, "Oh, no they are not a good little math student, cause look what they made on their test!"
What you said Will, sound great when you are sitting in an arm chair, but reality is a whole different thing.
Posted by: Benedetta | June 06, 2020 at 11:21 AM
Autism is mostly environmental but is is still over diagnosed! Many parents want to exploit the severe disability category so they choose "autism" in lui of ADHD OCD and generic speech delays usually in combination. This reason parents get an autism diagnosis is because of more educational and health services and possible monetary benefits for their family and their child. The far left exploits autism as a victimhood category due to disability making a minority status. The far right love autism due to racism. The far right likes autism over intellectual disability due to autism's mystique of Rain Man an artist or a muscician or maybe at worst a Special Olympic gold medal recipient, over intellectual disabilities which they see as a diagnosis fit for those of ethnic groups they view as inferior like native American African descent ect. Is still does not matter do what you can to help your child and in the rare case of vaccine injury then sue the vaccine makers.
Posted by: Will | June 05, 2020 at 06:40 PM
I grew up with so many kids, there were 50 my age in four surrounding communities. I could walk to all their homes. One had asthma, one got allergy shots, and one had down syndrome. No autism. I graduated with 430 kids, in three classes of this many in one school I assisted the special ed teacher with nine students, yes a total of nine students. There were no boys, all girls. So out of 1200 students there were only nine in special ed? I had very intelligent physicians. When I had encephalitis, an intern, came up with the treatment for me. His protocol is probably still used today, that was in 1960. The media and "experts" think that that these doctors just missed autism. You could not possible miss autism. I went through with Joe, not looking at me, repetitious behaviors, pacing up and down, overhearing, light bothering him, not sleeping at night, vomiting from food, rocking back and forth in the chairs, using the bathroom 50 times a day, chewing on his collars and cuffs of his shirts, how could you miss that. The brainwashing in the media and from this "experts" is insane and harming the children and use of recoveries and new treatments. But most of all, not admitting about the harm of vaccines and other toxins are damaging the children health for a lifetime.
Posted by: elaine dow | June 05, 2020 at 05:50 PM
There’s a documentary on YouTube that shows an undeniable link between mercury and autism. It’s called Trace Amounts: Ethyl Mercury. It’s been out for a while but as of today has less than 100K views. This information needs to go viral. Vaccines including the flu vaccine still have dangerous levels of mercury in them and paired with aluminum the effect is magnified. Flu shots are pushed heavily (even on pregnant mothers) with no warning about the danger!! Can’t believe anyone trusts the CDC after all their blatant lies. Truth is power! Please spread it like a virus!!
Posted by: Hannah Pham | June 05, 2020 at 05:16 PM
The Audacity of a periodical like "Psychology Today" to claim that Autism exists because of better diagnosis is beyond truth and reason. Are there more "Broken Bones" because of better diagnosis? Are there more murders because of better diagnosis? While the CDC chooses methods to show that 1 in 54 kids have autism, the reality is more like 1 in 35 and way higher if we look at boys more closely. I read that Ireland has around 1 in 16 and the UK hovers at around 1 in 21. To think that a child rocking back and forth with no speech while throwing chairs out the window of the classroom might somehow have gone undiagnosed is absurd. Granted, this example is of the middle level; a level 2 perhaps according to the DSM-5. WHO is Psychology Today in bed with? Just yesterday I was speaking with some police and fireman. Each one has an autistic child or 2. Firefighters, News reporters, Weathermen, Wrestlers, Doctors, top notch Lawyers all have some autistic kids. Yes-the brains of children can and do swell up after toxic loads of Neurotoxic Aluminum, Cancer Causing Formaldehyde, Peanut oils leading to anaphylactic shock, ether, polysorbate, and Zoonoses from Pigs dogs monkeys insects etc. This is a huge "Mad-Cow" disease experiment on innocent children.
Posted by: Shelley Tzorfas | June 05, 2020 at 12:50 PM
Life long friends, and neighbors; as an older couple went to heaven several years ago.
Their beloved grandson, they only had two grandchildren; broke their hearts years ago by starting down the road of addiction way back in high school, Well their grand son joined them in heaven this week at the age of 26.
There is more than just autism going on here.
Posted by: Benedetta | June 05, 2020 at 10:52 AM
Abigail Fagan, an associate editor at P.T., reminds me of Nero .. infamous Roman emperor from 54 to 68, who stood stoically .. impervious .. while witnessing Rome burn ..
There should be a special place in hell for those who willfully .. blissfully .. ignore the greatest human catastrophe in world history .. as it unfolds right before their eyes.
Nothing to see here … move on … the health of our children is of no concern to we .. the defenders of a SICK vaccine industry that grows more and more powerful every day.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | June 05, 2020 at 08:07 AM