What Happens When Ignorant Urban Myths Overcome Scientific Proof?

[Zontor]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
It's easier to play the victim & be a part of a class action suit than accept the responsibility/knowledge that you have produced a defective human being.

Hmmm...where to start. I'm sure you're pround of your glib tongue-in-cheek comment - it's easy to be an ass when you're hidden behind a computer screen - I'm also sure you're always nice to the handicapped kids in your high school......

It's also easier to take offense when the topic hits close to home.

I'm currently watching my 3 year old autistic son. Is he defective? Is anyone perfect?

I do not necessarily believe that mercury, vacinations, etc. are the cause of autism - however there is evidence that these kids do have autoimmune issues as well as an some chemical imbalances. I'm wide open to all research and my child is in several research projects with some of the top autism doctors in the nation.

My wife, however, has studied and, to a certain extent subscribes to some of these theories. We have almost reached divorce over how to best allocate our limited resources to help our son. How does one argue when some parents say that the wheat-free / gluten free diets help their kid? How does one argue when a parent vaccinates their kid and then the kid exhibits autistic tendancies (I'm fully aware of the pro's & con's of this issue and tend to feel that vaccinations are NOT the cause) - that is THEIR perception.

I don't think it is so much looking for blame as looking for a *reason* - if you have a sinus infection do you BLAME someone for it or do you look for a cause and a possible cure?

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Diagnoses of autism have risen sharply in recent years, from roughly 1 case for every 10,000 births in the 1980's to 1 in 166 births in 2003.

:shocked:

That's probably more to do with accurate diagnoses than any real rise in the problem.

Previously many kids with autism were simply diagnosed as severely retarded.

Were mental retardation rates (birth) that high in the 80s?

I dunno.

Also realize that many seemingly normal kids with slight quirks are now diagnosed with autism when they were just considered wierd before.

The only two things I could find (a CDC study and the following link seem to show the rate is rising although it doesn't seem to be as high as in the OP.

"
Some people have attributed the rising rate of autism to "diagnosis shifting," meaning children who in past years might have been classified as having mental retardation or speech/language difficulties are now being diagnosed as having autism. This study refutes that theory. "By looking at trends in other classifications, we see that this increase is not seen across the board in all [special]http:// ed classifications," Newschaffer said. "This is not a rising tide lifting all boats."
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=558681

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Diagnoses of autism have risen sharply in recent years, from roughly 1 case for every 10,000 births in the 1980's to 1 in 166 births in 2003.

:shocked:

That's probably more to do with accurate diagnoses than any real rise in the problem.

Previously many kids with autism were simply diagnosed as severely retarded.

Were mental retardation rates (birth) that high in the 80s?

I dunno.

Also realize that many seemingly normal kids with slight quirks are now diagnosed with autism when they were just considered wierd before.

The only two things I could find (a CDC study and the following link seem to show the rate is rising although it doesn't seem to be as high as in the OP.

Some people have attributed the rising rate of autism to "diagnosis shifting," meaning children who in past years might have been classified as having mental retardation or speech/language difficulties are now being diagnosed as having autism. This study refutes that theory. "By looking at trends in other classifications, we see that this increase is not seen across the board in all [special

Like I said, I dunno.

I do know that public awareness of autism increased greatly as I was growing up, and was previously virtually unknown among most people.

Diagnosis shifting get my bet as the majority reason.

 

[Zontor]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe

Diagnoses of autism have risen sharply in recent years, from roughly 1 case for every 10,000 births in the 1980's to 1 in 166 births in 2003.

:shocked:

That's probably more to do with accurate diagnoses than any real rise in the problem.

Previously many kids with autism were simply diagnosed as severely retarded.

Were mental retardation rates (birth) that high in the 80s?

I dunno.

Also realize that many seemingly normal kids with slight quirks are now diagnosed with autism when they were just considered wierd before.

The only two things I could find (a CDC study and the following link seem to show the rate is rising although it doesn't seem to be as high as in the OP.

Some people have attributed the rising rate of autism to "diagnosis shifting," meaning children who in past years might have been classified as having mental retardation or speech/language difficulties are now being diagnosed as having autism. This study refutes that theory. "By looking at trends in other classifications, we see that this increase is not seen across the board in all [special

Like I said, I dunno.

I do know that public awareness of autism increased greatly as I was growing up, and was previously virtually unknown among most people.

Diagnosis shifting get my bet as the majority reason.

I would agree that it is a part of the reason. The diagnosis for autism has broadened in the early 2000's and in my opinion Aspergers & autism have replaced ADD as a diagnosis for behaivor related issues.

I do, however, tend to believe that actual cases of autism are also on the increase for a number of technical reasons that would turn this post into a book...

 

[Icepick]

My son was diagnosed with PDD (pervasive development disability) a couple of years ago. He was around 1 - 1.5 yrs old. He seemed to be having a delay with his speech development and there were some other characteristics that had us worried. We took him to a specialist and he was diagnosed with PDD. This was described to me as being a very, very mild form of autism that manifests itself in delayed speech and other quirks. He's been receiving special attention by speech therapists, occupational therapists as well as attending a special pre-school ever since. Now he's 3 years old and looking at him you wouldn't know anything was wrong so hopefully we caught it in time to reverse the diagnosis.

My wife and I didn't start noticing these problems until shortly after he received his vaccinations. That's when a friend introduced us to the idea discussed in this thread that the vaccinations are causing autism. That was over 2 years ago. I did ask the pediatrician her opinion and she didn't deny the claim. Her response was just that there is not enough evidence to arrive at the conclusion that vaccines are causing it. I really don't know what's causing this but it's scary.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: icepik

My wife and I didn't start noticing these problems until shortly after he received his vaccinations. That's when a friend introduced us to the idea discussed in this thread that the vaccinations are causing autism. That was over 2 years ago. I did ask the pediatrician her opinion and she didn't deny the claim. Her response was just that there is not enough evidence to arrive at the conclusion that vaccines are causing it. I really don't know what's causing this but it's scary.

Because that's when autism first starts showing up. It's called a "coincidence."

NONE, not a single study points to vaccinations as a cause, even though 5 have been done with that very theory in mind.

The reason this has come about is bad timing and the myths this leads to. About the time kids get their first shots is when autism manifests itself and is diagnosed.

 

[EyeMWing]

OUTLAW VACCINES!!!

(And then we have kids with autism, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, hepitatas, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.)

 

[ElFenix]

kinda like global warming...

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: icepik
My son was diagnosed with PDD (pervasive development disability) a couple of years ago. He was around 1 - 1.5 yrs old. He seemed to be having a delay with his speech development and there were some other characteristics that had us worried. We took him to a specialist and he was diagnosed with PDD. This was described to me as being a very, very mild form of autism that manifests itself in delayed speech and other quirks. He's been receiving special attention by speech therapists, occupational therapists as well as attending a special pre-school ever since. Now he's 3 years old and looking at him you wouldn't know anything was wrong so hopefully we caught it in time to reverse the diagnosis.

i didn't talk until i was 4. my parents thought i was retarded for a bit. so they took me to the doctor to ask for a diagnosis. the doctor came into the room and i said, 'hello dr. smith, how are you today.' my parents were amazed. i haven't shut up since.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: icepik
My son was diagnosed with PDD (pervasive development disability) a couple of years ago. He was around 1 - 1.5 yrs old. He seemed to be having a delay with his speech development and there were some other characteristics that had us worried. We took him to a specialist and he was diagnosed with PDD. This was described to me as being a very, very mild form of autism that manifests itself in delayed speech and other quirks. He's been receiving special attention by speech therapists, occupational therapists as well as attending a special pre-school ever since. Now he's 3 years old and looking at him you wouldn't know anything was wrong so hopefully we caught it in time to reverse the diagnosis.

i didn't talk until i was 4. my parents thought i was retarded for a bit. so they took me to the doctor to ask for a diagnosis. the doctor came into the room and i said, 'hello dr. smith, how are you today.' my parents were amazed. i haven't shut up since.

Word. I was a little slow on the uptake with certain sounds (L as in lamer, th as in the) and I was recieving "special attention". Eventually I got bored of it and 6 months later they decided that I needed to be bumped up to the GT english shizzle because I was making all the other kids feel bad that I was kicking their asses at R+R.

Oh, and I still can't multiply in my head, per se. Hasn't stopped me from succeeding at calculus.

 

[dullard]

Many, many vaccines have been eliminated from use due to urban myths and public outcry which do not have the backing of scientific evidence.

But, Amused, it is the parents right to believe in urban myths and to do as they please in a capitolistic society.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: dullard
Many, many vaccines have been eliminated from use due to urban myths and public outcry which do not have the backing of scientific evidence.

But, Amused, it is the parents right to believe in urban myths and to do as they please in a capitolistic society.

When did I say they did not have the right to be idiots?

 

[Icepick]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: icepik

My wife and I didn't start noticing these problems until shortly after he received his vaccinations. That's when a friend introduced us to the idea discussed in this thread that the vaccinations are causing autism. That was over 2 years ago. I did ask the pediatrician her opinion and she didn't deny the claim. Her response was just that there is not enough evidence to arrive at the conclusion that vaccines are causing it. I really don't know what's causing this but it's scary.

Because that's when autism first starts showing up. It's called a "coincidence."

NONE, not a single study points to vaccinations as a cause, even though 5 have been done with that very theory in mind.

The reason this has come about is bad timing and the myths this leads to. About the time kids get their first shots is when autism manifests itself and is diagnosed.

You're probably right about it being a coincidence. I really haven't seen any hard evidence to tie vaccines to any autism problems either.

 

[cjgallen]

My sister refuses to get her baby immunized because of all the scare stories she's heard :roll: she claims she's gonna stick her in a private school that doesn't require vaccine records.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: cjgallen
My sister refuses to get her baby immunized because of all the scare stories she's heard :roll: she claims she's gonna stick her in a private school that doesn't require vaccine records.

And have the kid attend what university?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: dullard
Many, many vaccines have been eliminated from use due to urban myths and public outcry which do not have the backing of scientific evidence.

But, Amused, it is the parents right to believe in urban myths and to do as they please in a capitolistic society.

When did I say they did not have the right to be idiots?

They have the right to be idiots. But I demand the right to kill them for it.