Serious discussion.

As recently as 2000, autism prevalence was estimated at

1-2:10,000

Recent CDC statistics estimate the prevalence at

1:<150



I can attest to the escalation from my own caseload. This used to be considered (and still is according to regulations) a low incidence impairment. Yet, the numbers are exceeding those for the emotionally disturbed population. In my school district, the autism numbers exceeded the ED cases NLT than October 2006. My team has identified THREE new cases since then, and our ChildSearch Team (evaluating 3-5 year olds) has identified ELEVEN. I do not know about the other 3 teams in our department.

Our district has <15,000 students.

There has been much speculation and accusation as to WHY there is a surge in cases. But to date, I have not seen a viable cause that is more than a slight increase in probablities of new cases. What gives?


Disclaimer: I realize that our discussion will be mostly speculative. But you guys are pretty sharp (except for that Lemur fellow), and maybe we can come up with some solutions.