David24 --
First, this is a collaborative answer with much of the background
research being done by Bobbie7-GA, who shared her research generously.
HISTORY OF AUTISM
------------------------
Autism was first recognized in 1943 in a paper by Leo Kanner, a
psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, who described the aloofness
and behavioral problems of a group of 11 children, according to Susan
Sheehan, writing in the current issue of The New Yorker (Dec. 1,
2003), which is NOT online. Sheehan's article, "The Autism Fight,"
describes a family dealing with autism first-hand; it also deals with
treatments.
Subequent work was done by Bruno Bettelheim which pinned the cause on
"refrigerator mothers". But a psychologist named Bernard Rimland and
his wife Gloria had a child who exhibited symptoms of autism from the
day he was born. In 1964 Rimland's book, "Infantile Autism" theorized
that the condition was a neurological disorder, one with a genetic
component.
According to Sheehan, few researchers focused on autism in the U.S.
until 1994, when the National Alliance for Autism Research was
established. One of the results is that you'll see differences in
definitions and diagnoses.
TYPES OF AUTISM
-----------------
There are believed to be 10-15 genes which cause autism. There are an
increasing number of definitions of special types of autism. Autism
itself is one of five disorders called Pervasive Development Disorders
(PDD), according to the Autism Society -- though Sheehan's article
(and others) often refer to all of the PDDs as a type of autism:
1. Autistic disorder
2. Asperger's disorder
3. Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD)
4. Rett's disorder
5. PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder - not otherwise specified)
Autism Society of America
"What is Autism?"
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=whatisautism
You'll see yet another type of autism, sensory defensive disorder,
referenced in this Google Answer answered by Chellphill-GA:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=248392
PREVALENCE OF AUTISM
---------------------
The same Autism Society of America FAQ cited above uses Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) data from 2001 to put the estimates at between
500,000 and 1.5 million Americans. The ASA numbers are based on
estimates that between 2 and 6 people per 1,000 suffer from the
disorder.
Sheehan's article says, "Recent studies suggest that autism spectrum
disorders occur in an estimated 1 in every 250 children. Then years
ago, the number was thought to be 1 in every 2,500."
However, U.S. Department of Education numbers are growing 10-17
percent per year, and a separate California report from 1999 notes
that there was a 273% increase in that state between 1979 and 1992.
It should be noted that autism is 4 times more common in boys than
girls; that Asperger's syndrome it 10 times more common in boys.
Also, that a couple with one autistic child has a 5-6% chance of
having another. However, there seem to be no racial, ethnic or social
patterns to autism.
Internationally, the numbers seem to vary, though comparisons may be
difficult because of differences in diagnostic criteria:
Germany: 2/10,000
Japan: 16/10,000
University of Maryland
"Statistics" (undated)
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~icarde1/statistic.html
U.K.: 6,400 autistic children
Department of Health
" CiN 2001: Local authority table K" (Nov. 11, 2002)
http://www.doh.gov.uk/cin/cin2001tablek.htm
U.K. total population estimates are about 10 cases per 10,000,
according to Britain's National Autistic Society. The total number is
estimated by the NAS to be 500,000 people, of which 12,000 are
children:
Newman College, Birmingham
"Autism: What is It?" (undated)
http://www.newman.ac.uk/studweb/autism/Page2.html
RESOURCES FOR DATA
---------------------------
We've already mentioned a few. There are four basic sources for data:
? government mental health data
? education statistics
? private advocacy groups (National Autistic Society in the U.K.;
National Alliance for Austism Research; Greater Glasgow Autism
Project; Southwest Autism Research Center in Phoenix, AZ)
? academic work
Below are links, to direct resources where it may be more beneficial:
National Alliance for Autism Research
http://www.naar.org/
Greater Glasgow Autism Project
http://www.nas.org.uk/scotland/research.html
Southwest Autism Research Center
http://www.autismcenter.org/
Centers for Disease Control
"Austism Prevalence" (August, 2001)
http://www.cdc.gov/od/nvpo/factsheets/fs_tableVII_doc2.htm
National Institute of Child & Human Development
"Autism" (Oct. 29, 2003)
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/autism/
AmericanChiropractic.net
U.S. Department of Education, Autism in 6-21 year-olds, 1992-2000
http://www.americanchiropractic.net/autism/Autism%20statistics,%20US%20dept%20pf%20ed.pdf
GOOGLE ANSWERS RESOURCES
-------------------------
There have been a number of questions related to autism and some
excellent resources developed by other researchers:
Major organizations and resources on autism, answered by Techtor-GA:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=206495
Asperger's syndrome, answered by Angy-GA:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=180490
Genetics and autism by Googlenut-GA:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=132749
Maternal age and autism risks by Missy-GA:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=54721
Google search strategy:
Autism + population
"National Alliance for Autism Research"
For international numbers, it can be helpful to conduct searches along these lines:
"Autism society" + Australia
autism + population + Germany
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
