Autism Studies Show Higher Numbers

Two new studies released this week show a correlation between vaccination and diagnosis with Autism as well as higher numbers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  These groundbreaking studies fly in the face of the US Government which has argued through the CDC and the Supreme Court that there is no link between vaccines and Autism.

The first study asserts that the number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, is 1 out of 38 children, in stark contrast to the CDC’s estimate of 1 in 100 children.  The study was performed on a large sample size in South Korea.   This important finding should encourage practitioners to rethink how they screen for this disorder.  Many people are mistaken in their belief that ASD children have severe disabilities such as portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rainman.  However as a spectrum disorder, symptoms can be subtle.  Parents, teachers and practitioners must work together in diagnosing children.  The defining characteristic in ASD is a patient’s challenges with social interactions: making eye contact, understanding social cues, difficulty making and maintaining friends.

The second study reviewed cases awarded by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.  The authors found that plaintiffs who were awarded compensation were able to demonstrate evidence of autism diagnosis post vaccination.  The group who performed this study will be holding a conference in DC at noon today.