2cents: There is no denying that:
a. DSM III had a significantly reserved criteria for ASD.
b. The stats of the 1990s were all based on the Criteria of the DSM III Criteria for ASD.
c. Aside from the many other criteria that were added, age is a huge factor, the DSM had an age restriction of needing to be diagnosed prior to 30 months.
Since the majority of children with ASD are diagnosed after 30 months, they were not included in the DSM III, so the increase is not an increase in prevalence, it is an increase in diagnosis.
I do not expect you to agree to any of this.
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Because you ignore the point that 1/3 of Autistic children are NON-VERBAL!
so if 1:50 kids are autistic, 1:150 kids are NON-VERBAL Autistic.
in 1970 PER THE CDC, the rate for NON-VERBAL Autism was 1:10,000
Today it is 1:150
So how can you DENY that the rate of NON-VERBAL AUTISM has Skyrocketed???
Your “drey kup” arguments to work on large segments of the population – but not to those
of us who are aware of that Autism Definition was Expanded IN ORDER TO DENY THAT AUTISM
HAS INCREASED!
But the “expanded” definition of Autism does not explain how NON VERBAL AUTISM went
from 1:10,000 to 1:150!!!