CDC Expands Autism Tracking

[BeckyDem]

by Michelle Diament | May 1, 2023


With autism prevalence continuing to rise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will monitor the number of children with the developmental disability in more communities across the nation.

The federal agency is adding five new sites to its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring, or ADDM, Network this spring, bringing the total to 16. Researchers with the network regularly comb through health and education records for children in their communities at certain ages to assess how many are on the spectrum. The CDC relies on these findings to estimate how pervasive the developmental disability is.

Traditionally, the network has kept tabs on the situation among 8-year-olds and all sites will continue to look at that age group as well as 4-year-olds. Nine sites will also collect information about transition planning and co-occurring conditions among 16-year-olds with autism, the CDC said.

Excerpt: With the newly added sites, data collection will occur in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Indianapolis; Laredo, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; San Diego; St. Louis; and Puerto Rico. (Findings are expected to be released in 2024.)

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2023/05/01/cdc-expands-autism-tracking/30364/

[NullTuples]

1. I really wish the APA & thus, the CDC would listen to actual autistics.

Currently, the underlying APA theory of why people are autistics is essentially Blank Slate Theory from nearly 100 years ago. The assumption is that all humans are born with identical brains and everything that makes someone "different" is learned behaviors to be unlearned. That's the essence of Applied Behavior Analysis and all the variations that stem from it. Meanwhile, other disciplines such as neurology, endocrinology, genetics & developmental biology have firmly established that neurodiversity is very much an trait of humans.

That's why I'm a bit cautious regarding announcements like this. The testing is based on flawed theory, and the "treatment" often appears to work via inflicting mild trauma, specifically because the theory is bad. If the expanded testing findings are that more kids are autistics, more schools will offer ABA and more autistic kids will be harmed. ABA is an entire industry at this point.

[slightlv]

2. I only went as far as a BA in Psychology and I don't agree with the Blank Slate theory!

I never did... and Bruno Bettelheim did more damage than anyone else I can of at this point. I detested his theories and what he did to mothers.

I would much rather more attention be given to what food additives might be doing to our children. I'm not saying they are the answer. But I am saying they might be having an effect. Lord know they might be having an effect on weight and endocrinology. Does the endocrinology effects then bleed over into other effects? We don't have any idea because they won't do concerted studies on food additives.

Forty years ago it was "Nature vs Nurture" and "nurture" was the boogie man. From what I see, that's still the case. Blame the mother. And yet, just last night I read an article here on DU about a mother who's child was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, being suicidal and in need of emergency treatment, yet NO one would help. Her child was falling through the cracks. She was beside herself for help. Ended up homeschooling while trying to find help for him all the while. Yeah... that sure sounds like bad mothering. /snark.

[NullTuples]

3. I am convinced many additives are Not Good, but I don't see how they can cause neurodiversities.

Autistics have been around as long as humanity, and in high enough numbers to be recognizable in historic records.

That said, food additives exist for one reason only: to improve profits. Typically by extending shelf life beyond what's normally possible, which means ensuring the death of bacteria and fungii. But guess what lives in your gut? Bacteria and fungii. The connection to autism though is not causal but rather through observations by autistics that when our guts are off, serotonin regulation is off, and sensory issues become worse. That much is backed by research. Sadly, the media picks up on it as, "gut bacteria may cure autism" & other such clickbait garbage.

But also, additives are used to replace 'real food' ingredients again to increase profits because they can artificially produce part of a similar taste or texture. Something that has clearly increased in sync with their usage is various cancers & health issues such as cardiovascular problems; again that much is backed by research and mechanisms are known for many.

Yet it's so incredibly rare for any specific food additive to be banned. Instead, we've gone the other way, making it easier and easier for food manufacturers to hide ingredients that can be incredibly potent yet stay below the 1% of total ingredients threshold and thus remain hidden from consumers.

[slightlv]

5. Food and food additives are a bundle of contradictions.

Additives, even more so. And just because something is "natural" even more so. But you bring up a very good point. Autism has been around for as long as humanity. However, my question would be (and I don't know the answer)... has there been and increase and when did it begin (if it did?). That would be a good beginning point to start to unravel a mystery, yet I don't know that anyone ever started from that point. I was out of the field and into computers by then, if anyone did. After doing a long stint at the San Antonio State Hospital, I found I couldn't leave my patients behind at the end of the work day. It took too great a toll on my mental health, and I could see where I was heading if I stayed in the field.

As an aside, appropriate to nothing, not long after meeting my soon-to-be husband, we got to talking one night about our various jobs. Come to find out, he created the Music Therapy department at the hospital that I expanded into Creative Therapy! Talk about synchronicity! We've now been married nearly 40 years, so I guess it was a pretty good match! (LOL)

[NullTuples]

7. I understand completely about leaving that field.

And I love that synchronicity - May you have many more decades ahead of you!

[BeckyDem]

4. I hear you.

I appreciate the work of Gutstein, a very different approach.

[The Wandering Harper]

6. I'm autistic and I concur