Autism Is greater than Cancer.

donnaruhl

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

Pjzepp67

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

Surely the alarmingly increasing ratios are down to modern diagnostic methods and recognitinon of the condition rather than an unseen plague sweeping our collective nations..

polaris_x

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

they are probably related to the same thing ... food supply, environmental changes ...

Hugh Freaking Dillon

Pjzepp67 wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

Surely the alarmingly increasing ratios are down to modern diagnostic methods and recognitinon of the condition rather than an unseen plague sweeping our collective nations..

^this

JimmyV

Greater?

Hugh Freaking Dillon

JimmyV wrote:

Greater?

I believe, by greater, the OP means "of more urgent attention".

donnaruhl

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

JimmyV wrote:

Greater?

I believe, by greater, the OP means "of more urgent attention".

Yes! That's what I meant.

JimmyV

donnaruhl wrote:

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

JimmyV wrote:

Greater?

I believe, by greater, the OP means "of more urgent attention".

Yes! That's what I meant.

Ah, I see.

JimmyV

I do have to believe that part of the startling increase is due to autism being under-diagnosed in 1970 and over-diagnosed in 2013.

But certainly more attention should be paid.

brianlux

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

It's true that Autism is crippling for many people. I think it's also worth considering that some people with milder form of autism such as Asperger's syndrome may be the very one's who will find some of the answers to our problems. Temple Grandin is an outstanding example of such a person and she herself has stated that we should look to some of those with Asperger's who have unique skills for solving problems and finding solutions.

donnaruhl

brianlux wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

It's true that Autism is crippling for many people. I think it's also worth considering that some people with milder form of autism such as Asperger's syndrome may be the very one's who will find some of the answers to our problems. Temple Grandin is an outstanding example of such a person and she herself has stated that we should look to some of those with Asperger's who have unique skills for solving problems and finding solutions.

I truely wish that more of them did have Asperger's.I had no clue as to what Autism was until my Grandson.

brianlux

donnaruhl wrote:

brianlux wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

It's true that Autism is crippling for many people. I think it's also worth considering that some people with milder form of autism such as Asperger's syndrome may be the very one's who will find some of the answers to our problems. Temple Grandin is an outstanding example of such a person and she herself has stated that we should look to some of those with Asperger's who have unique skills for solving problems and finding solutions.

I truely wish that more of them did have Asperger's.I had no clue as to what Autism was until my Grandson.

Yes, and I certainly don't mean to down-play the seriousness of autism. What have you learned about the cause of increased rate of autism? Are the statistics you listed word-wide? I also wonder if the rate increase is partly due improved diagnosis.

Jason P

JimmyV wrote:

I do have to believe that part of the startling increase is due to autism being under-diagnosed in 1970 and over-diagnosed in 2013.

But certainly more attention should be paid.

:geek:

donnaruhl

My words may have been a bit extreme in the caption.I did however grab some attention.
That was my main goal. My Grandson is 3 1/2. He goes to pre-school with five other Autistic children
in our neighborhood. He has mild Autism,not Aspergers.(I wish!).He is very intelligent when it comes to Puzzles,Numbers,and Tablet/I-Phone games.But he lacks in social and behavioral skills.The other five children in his class aren't so fortunate.And yes it is basically an unseen entity,Until it hit's home. It's not just an American
Illness.Professional's are diagnoising it far better now and are more advanced in treating it. Just the same,It's here,It's real and the numbers are staggering.

justam

brianlux wrote:

It's true that Autism is crippling for many people. I think it's also worth considering that some people with milder form of autism such as Asperger's syndrome may be the very one's who will find some of the answers to our problems. Temple Grandin is an outstanding example of such a person and she herself has stated that we should look to some of those with Asperger's who have unique skills for solving problems and finding solutions.

You're right that there is a spectrum. And, perhaps that's why the numbers have increased so rapidly too. More people are being placed under the umbrella of the label "autistic."

There is a lot to think about. I think at some point, there will be more sub-divisions among the people who are now merely labelled "autistic." People are individuals and may have some of the characteristics but not others. Some may have benefited from early diagnosis and interventions while others have not.

My son is on the high-end of the spectrum. When he hears people talking about "curing" autism, he is a bit hurt because it makes it seem like he has a disease...

it's not a disease in the same way that cancer is.
It's more of a different brain structure. That's why some of the people with Aspergers are so exceptional in their fields of interest.

He worried that if there was a test for babies in the womb people would choose not to have children like him. It was a valid concern. Especially since he's a lovely person and there are other people who are on the spectrum that are lovely people too.

It's complicated! :?

donnaruhl

justam wrote:

brianlux wrote:

It's true that Autism is crippling for many people. I think it's also worth considering that some people with milder form of autism such as Asperger's syndrome may be the very one's who will find some of the answers to our problems. Temple Grandin is an outstanding example of such a person and she herself has stated that we should look to some of those with Asperger's who have unique skills for solving problems and finding solutions.

You're right that there is a spectrum. And, perhaps that's why the numbers have increased so rapidly too. More people are being placed under the umbrella of the label "autistic."

There is a lot to think about. I think at some point, there will be more sub-divisions among the people who are now merely labelled "autistic." People are individuals and may have some of the characteristics but not others. Some may have benefited from early diagnosis and interventions while others have not.

My son is on the high-end of the spectrum. When he hears people talking about "curing" autism, he is a bit hurt because it makes it seem like he has a disease...

it's not a disease in the same way that cancer is.
It's more of a different brain structure. That's why some of the people with Aspergers are so exceptional in their fields of interest.

He worried that if there was a test for babies in the womb people would choose not to have children like him. It was a valid concern. Especially since he's a lovely person and there are other people who are on the spectrum that are lovely people too.

It's complicated! :?[/quote

I wouldn't change thing's for the world.I love my Grandson. We need to find out what part of the environment
is causing this first.Then work on changing it.

CAVSTARR313

Greater..

I don't know.. While a parent's child being diagnosed with autism must be terrible, I would say watching cancer aggressively killing someone you love is worse.. Most children live with autism.. Cancer kills..

hedonist

donnaruhl wrote:

I wouldn't change thing's for the world.I love my Grandson. We need to find out what part of the environment
is causing this first.Then work on changing it.

I don't know much about autisim...so I ask how is it known it's environmentally caused? Especially as it's being more (correctly?) diagnosed now vs several decades ago.

As to autisim outweighing the numbers or effects of cancer - well again, I don't know much about the former, but the latter? It's taken out more than 90% of my family...in a bad way too.

brianlux

hedonist wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

I wouldn't change thing's for the world.I love my Grandson. We need to find out what part of the environment
is causing this first.Then work on changing it.

As to autisim outweighing the numbers or effects of cancer - well again, I don't know much about the former, but the latter? It's taken out more than 90% of my family...in a bad way too.

That's very heavy, hedonist. I'm very sorry to hear that. Take care of yourself. We need people like you!

donnaruhl

Hedonist.I'm truly sorry to hear of your losses. I wasn't implying that Cancer was any less a problem.
It's recognition and awareness has moved mountains towards trying to find a cure. And that's basically
what I would like to see happen towards Autism,A.D.H.D and other neurological disorders that may be linked to the environment. I lost my Dad and Aunt to cancer within two day's of each other. And My Sister in two days of being diagnosed.I got one phone call...and she was gone.If a person is on the higher end of the spectrum, they have a greater chance of being fully functioning adults. It's those that are non-functioning,and will always need care for their entire live's.If they were all asperger's I probably wouldn't have said a word,And went about my life.I thank you for your voice in this matter.

hedonist

Thanks, you two. And donna, I too extend sympathies for your losses and really hope that those in all of these situations get the help needed, in whatever form.

Prince Of Dorkness

OK well... let's see...

Back in the 70s, kids obesity rate was about 5%. Now it's closer to 16%.

Back in the 1970s, kids played outside a lot more. They were more active and more INTERactive with their friends and peers. Their brains could properly develop and grow and form vital patterns that they CAN'T develop over certain ages. Now they come home from school, plug into a game console, grab a bag of Cheetos and a half-gallon of Pepsi and sit there for the night in a dimly-lit room.

Back in the 70s, one parent could afford to stay at home and care for young children and give direct and special attention to help young minds develop and grow. Now wages, adjusted for inflation, are about 35% of what they were in the 70s... so both parents have to work and they don't make as much as one parent did in the 70s. So kids are carted off to daycare where they spend many of their most crucial mentally formative years being herded around like cattle. The ones who aren't handed off to a sibling or an elderly parent.

Back in the 70s, kids drank milk, ate apples and peanut butter and real cheese. Now kids drink sugar/water/HFCS drinks, eat microwaved "snacks" made of fat and sodium and sugar and chemicals that I can't even pronounce, gelatinous cheese-like spreads and Red Bull.

Back in the 70s, families spent more time together interacting and helping children mature mentally and develop not only motor skills but language and social skills. When was the last time you saw a family in their back yard playing baseball? When was the last time the average family could afford a house with a back yard?

Back in the 70s, kids had record players that had speakers and required them to put a needle on a record and they would sing along with songs... together. Listening to music was a social activity. Now they plug into an electronic box with headphones and don't interact with the world at all. Even ADULTS have lost the ability to read, reason, interact socially and spend a few minutes alone without flying into a panic if they can't get to their smart phone to post on Facebook or Twitter.

Back in the 70s, we didn't have GMO foods by a mega corporation that now legally poisons us and our children. Now.... we do.

I can't be the only one who thinks that MAYBE that has something to do with it?

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

OK well... let's see...

Back in the 70s, kids obesity rate was about 5%. Now it's closer to 16%.

Back in the 1970s, kids played outside a lot more. They were more active and more INTERactive with their friends and peers. Their brains could properly develop and grow and form vital patterns that they CAN'T develop over certain ages. Now they come home from school, plug into a game console, grab a bag of Cheetos and a half-gallon of Pepsi and sit there for the night in a dimly-lit room.

Back in the 70s, one parent could afford to stay at home and care for young children and give direct and special attention to help young minds develop and grow. Now wages, adjusted for inflation, are about 35% of what they were in the 70s... so both parents have to work and they don't make as much as one parent did in the 70s. So kids are carted off to daycare where they spend many of their most crucial mentally formative years being herded around like cattle. The ones who aren't handed off to a sibling or an elderly parent.

Back in the 70s, kids drank milk, ate apples and peanut butter and real cheese. Now kids drink sugar/water/HFCS drinks, eat microwaved "snacks" made of fat and sodium and sugar and chemicals that I can't even pronounce, gelatinous cheese-like spreads and Red Bull.

Back in the 70s, families spent more time together interacting and helping children mature mentally and develop not only motor skills but language and social skills. When was the last time you saw a family in their back yard playing baseball? When was the last time the average family could afford a house with a back yard?

Back in the 70s, kids had record players that had speakers and required them to put a needle on a record and they would sing along with songs... together. Listening to music was a social activity. Now they plug into an electronic box with headphones and don't interact with the world at all. Even ADULTS have lost the ability to read, reason, interact socially and spend a few minutes alone without flying into a panic if they can't get to their smart phone to post on Facebook or Twitter.

Back in the 70s, we didn't have GMO foods by a mega corporation that now legally poisons us and our children. Now.... we do.

I can't be the only one who thinks that MAYBE that has something to do with it?

I like what you have written here. There is much to consider... no question. Interestingly though... in the 70s... adults were lamenting the loss of the way of life the 50s offered... and so on.

I think your position on the breakdown of the family setting and the early institutionalization of children (dropped off at daycare) begs coinsideration. As significant as the dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle trend might be, I think the loss of the 'typical' household setting has manifested itself in ways we are only beginning to comprehend.

hedonist

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I like what you have written here. There is much to consider... no question. Interestingly though... in the 70s... adults were lamenting the loss of the way of life the 50s offered... and so on.

I think your position on the breakdown of the family setting and the early institutionalization of children (dropped off at daycare) begs coinsideration. As significant as the dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle trend might be, I think the loss of the 'typical' household setting has manifested itself in ways we are only beginning to comprehend.

And then that begs the question, was the typical household setting as bad as it's been made out to be? I've heard both sides of the argument. Definitely some ways of life I wish were still around (others, not so much).

And does being a single parent, whether or not by choice, have an impact?

Does parenting itself? (I think so, but as relates to autism, I just don't know).

Not to mention the food aspect - sure foods we ate in the 60s/70s were more...pure, natural...than they are now; well, what we generally take in. But I do think all those additives and non-food shit put into food has to have some kind of impact.

Good thread, as this isn't something I've had much experience with.

brianlux

The 70's weren't perfect but P.O.D. has listed some very pointed differences in things that were better then. Some things are better now- access to the internet, medical advances, more fuel efficient cars. But the list above gives me cause to pine for so much of what we had back then, including (at least in places) clean air. I remember when Flagstaff Arizona was advertised as the last city in America with clean air... and I remember the tragic day that claim was lost.

I have no doubt many of today's medical and mental health issues are a direct result of environmental and cultural factors.

riotgrl

I certainly think that we have become more adept at identifying children (and adults) that are on the autism spectrum, I believe that we are also seeing greater incidences of autism because of environmental triggers. If we have genetic predispositions for autism or cancer or Alzheimer's and then we are exposed to toxic environments that trigger these genetic markers then I think the natural outcome is greater numbers of people developing these disease/disorders. I think research is just now starting to catch up to examining the environmental triggers which is why speculation about the causes of autism (or cancer for that matter) are still in the early stages. I think it is worthwhile to examine all potential causes and not eliminate certain ones (vaccines comes to my mind - many people become very angry when vaccines are mentioned as a possible trigger).

PJ_Soul

Pjzepp67 wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

We have spent God know's what on trying to find a cure for cancer,
Which in itself,Is a horrific Disease.
But did you know that in 1970 it was one in 10,000 for Autistic Children.
And now in 2013 it is one in 50.
I feel that there has not been enough done to protect our future generation's
from this crippling disorder. And I fear that we as a people need to protect our future existance.
Because it seem's to me that we are breeding ourselves into extention.

Surely the alarmingly increasing ratios are down to modern diagnostic methods and recognitinon of the condition rather than an unseen plague sweeping our collective nations..

I believe this too. I think there were just a LOT of undiagnosed cases until recently.

PJ_Soul

hedonist wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

I wouldn't change thing's for the world.I love my Grandson. We need to find out what part of the environment
is causing this first.Then work on changing it.

I don't know much about autisim...so I ask how is it known it's environmentally caused? Especially as it's being more (correctly?) diagnosed now vs several decades ago.

As to autisim outweighing the numbers or effects of cancer - well again, I don't know much about the former, but the latter? It's taken out more than 90% of my family...in a bad way too.

More people get cancer than autism. By far. Like, 1 in 4 people get some form of cancer in their life now, and cancer can kill. The two things aren't even comparable. And there is NO evidence at all that autism is caused by environmental factors. They simply don't know. The theories about preventable causes come from parents who either want to find a solution or want something to blame.
Moderate to severe autism can be a terrible condition for families to live with though, and I hope they figure out more about it soon. My good friends have a very severely autistic son, non-verbal, and while he is a very sweet, happy, and lovable kid (lucky for them - that is not always the case with severe autism), he and his family are missing out on so much.

riotgrl

PJ_Soul wrote:

hedonist wrote:

donnaruhl wrote:

I wouldn't change thing's for the world.I love my Grandson. We need to find out what part of the environment
is causing this first.Then work on changing it.

I don't know much about autisim...so I ask how is it known it's environmentally caused? Especially as it's being more (correctly?) diagnosed now vs several decades ago.

As to autisim outweighing the numbers or effects of cancer - well again, I don't know much about the former, but the latter? It's taken out more than 90% of my family...in a bad way too.

More people get cancer than autism. By far. Like, 1 in 4 people get some form of cancer in their life now, and cancer can kill. The two things aren't even comparable. And there is NO evidence at all that autism is caused by environmental factors. They simply don't know. The theories about preventable causes come from parents who either want to find a solution or want something to blame.
Moderate to severe autism can be a terrible condition for families to live with though, and I hope they figure out more about it soon. My good friends have a very severely autistic son, non-verbal, and while he is a very sweet, happy, and lovable kid (lucky for them - that is not always the case with severe autism), he and his family are missing out on so much.

Part of the reason that there is little evidence to suggest environmental causes relates to the lack of research on these factors not because environmental causes do not factor in to autism diagnoses. This article suggests that at least some scientists are starting to look at the environment.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=autism-rise-driven-by-environment

PJ_Soul

riotgrl wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

hedonist wrote:

I don't know much about autisim...so I ask how is it known it's environmentally caused? Especially as it's being more (correctly?) diagnosed now vs several decades ago.

As to autisim outweighing the numbers or effects of cancer - well again, I don't know much about the former, but the latter? It's taken out more than 90% of my family...in a bad way too.

More people get cancer than autism. By far. Like, 1 in 4 people get some form of cancer in their life now, and cancer can kill. The two things aren't even comparable. And there is NO evidence at all that autism is caused by environmental factors. They simply don't know. The theories about preventable causes come from parents who either want to find a solution or want something to blame.
Moderate to severe autism can be a terrible condition for families to live with though, and I hope they figure out more about it soon. My good friends have a very severely autistic son, non-verbal, and while he is a very sweet, happy, and lovable kid (lucky for them - that is not always the case with severe autism), he and his family are missing out on so much.

Part of the reason that there is little evidence to suggest environmental causes relates to the lack of research on these factors not because environmental causes do not factor in to autism diagnoses. This article suggests that at least some scientists are starting to look at the environment.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=autism-rise-driven-by-environment

I know that some are starting to look into environmental factors (they have been for some years now), but no one has found any environmental cause yet, so it's all just conjecture at this point. Anyway, what I take issue with is the thread title. Autism is NOT "greater" (by that I assume the OP means worse) than cancer. Not even close. That's almost an insult to those with autism... not to mention those with cancer.

riotgrl

PJ_Soul wrote:

riotgrl wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

More people get cancer than autism. By far. Like, 1 in 4 people get some form of cancer in their life now, and cancer can kill. The two things aren't even comparable. And there is NO evidence at all that autism is caused by environmental factors. They simply don't know. The theories about preventable causes come from parents who either want to find a solution or want something to blame.
Moderate to severe autism can be a terrible condition for families to live with though, and I hope they figure out more about it soon. My good friends have a very severely autistic son, non-verbal, and while he is a very sweet, happy, and lovable kid (lucky for them - that is not always the case with severe autism), he and his family are missing out on so much.

Part of the reason that there is little evidence to suggest environmental causes relates to the lack of research on these factors not because environmental causes do not factor in to autism diagnoses. This article suggests that at least some scientists are starting to look at the environment.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=autism-rise-driven-by-environment

I know that some are starting to look into environmental factors (they have been for some years now), but no one has found any environmental cause yet, so it's all just conjecture at this point. Anyway, what I take issue with is the thread title. Autism is NOT "greater" (by that I assume the OP means worse) than cancer. Not even close. That's almost an insult to those with autism... not to mention those with cancer.

I think she mentioned in a previous post that she did not mean it that way - that she was talking about awareness is greater for cancer than autism.

I think the more we are learning about all diseases the more it is becoming more likely that environment plays a huge role in the greater incidences of all these diseases. Genetics can only account for so much especially as we are exposed to so many toxins on a daily basis - even ones that we don't currently think are a problem.