The frequency of autism stabilizes in the United States

In France, autism affects several hundred thousand people, children and adults alike. Symptoms appear very early, but most often go unnoticed. So the diagnosis is often made very late, too late! On average only after the age of 3 or 4 years, and that delays treatment accordingly.
In the United States, the problem has concerned health authorities for a long time. You have to have this notion in mind to understand the figures given by the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, January 2 and which reports this stagnation in the frequency of the disease in the United States after a very significant increase from 2000 to 2010. An increase that worried public health officials in this country, especially since it did not seem to be related to an obvious change in the lifestyle of children or pregnant Americans. Even the most eccentric hypotheses had been studied but nothing justified this increase.

It seems that the explanation is more rational and above all positive: The specialists in this disease insisted a lot on the importance of the early screening to help the integration of these children in real life. Their message had been heard in the late 90s and more and more effective screening campaigns had been undertaken … And when you search, you find … Adage verified. The number of autistic people screened first increased considerably, and now, very naturally, it stabilizes…. It is therefore in the screening that I play the first act of this disease and we can count on patient associations, very active in France, to find there an additional motivation to sensitize the public authorities.

There are different degrees of autism.

Autism is 3 categories of signs: difficulties in communicating, in establishing social links; children seem isolated in a kind of inner world. And behavioral disorders that are often difficult to analyze because all those that we tell, repetitive, stereotypical gestures, or cries are real but late
To date, there is no blood test or radio examination to detect autism.
A piece of advice, however, which can lead to a new examination, called Eye tracking – the analysis of eye movements, which allows to see if the baby, facing an adult who is talking to him, is looking at his mouth. , eyes, nose, or surrounding objects. If you find that your child is avoiding gaze, if he is behaving in a way that you feel is “abnormal”, talk to your doctor. He may ask for this promising test which is still under study.

A serious illness.

There is often almost total impossibility to communicate. Today there are no drugs. On the other hand, many exercises to do, which delay the aggravation and could allow better socialization.
This is too often insufficient, to the great despair of parents and their relatives who sometimes experience a real ordeal due to the insufficiency of structures adapted to the school, educational, social and therapeutic care of their children. We may be surprised that there is no clear rule and that the decision for example for a school depends on the principal or even the teacher. And it is all the more regrettable that the examples of successful integration are more numerous than the failures and that this can be enriching for everyone. However, associations of parents and professionals have been created to support autistic people and their families with educational care and support for families.
There are many children with autism who are far above average in intelligence. The notion of repetitiveness of words or actions which the cinema is extremely fond of – remember Rain man – is one of the characteristics; This does not unfortunately prevent them from having trouble communicating. And at a time when communication is everywhere, it is a serious handicap.

We do not know the cause or causes, but we feel that we are approaching because the chemistry of the brain gradually reveals its secrets. Autism is thought to be a disorder of the early stages of brain development.