Friday, 08 January 2010
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Disabled Children: Why are the numbers rising?
Thoughts from a parent of an asperger child:Even before my son was diagnosed with asperger sydrome 11 years ago, my colleagues and I had been discussing the rising numbers of disabled children we were seeing. As teachers, we felt as though we were referring children in greater numbers as time had progressed. Of course, as a parent of a "differently abled" individual, I tend to notice the number more than someone who does not live with this issue. It seems as though everyone I meet these days has a story to tell about their son, daughter, grandchild, niece, nephew or friend who has some sort of disability. True, they tend to share with me because my son has Asperger syndrome, but I am noticing this in other avenues as well.
I joined Facebook almost two years ago. I have had the wonderful pleasure of reconnecting with friends from grade school, high school, and college years. What has amazed me is the number of my former classmated who have children with some sort of disability. Many of my facebook friends have children with autism, down's syndrome, asperger syndrome, as well as various learning disabilities. It makes people wonder if the rising numbers have anything to do with our environmental changes, or the medical breakthroughs we have had, or the chemcials that are added to the foods nowdays.
My oldest child was two months premature. Thinking back on those two weeks we spent in the neonatal intensive care unit with him, I remember many of the other babies who were in the hospital with our son. One of the babies was less than a pound at birth. She survived and was released five months after our son. I know that many years ago, most of the babies I saw in the NICU, including my child, might not have lived past birth. The process of natural selection would have taken over. This may be one factor in why there are more disabled children. Medical science has enabled these babies to live. Our lives are both challenged and enriched because of the ability to save these lives. Of course that is just at theory, but it is something to ponder.
Other issues to ponder are the large number of hormones and chemicals we are pumping into our foods. Many years ago, life was simplier, food was natural, may have not lasted as long, but it was eaten when fresh, discarded when old and far healthier for us all. Shots given to our children need to be noted as well. True, giving our children the ability to fight diseases through vaccinations is indeed a wonderful breakthrough of medical science, however, it can also be harmful to certain children. It is definitely worth looking at this factor. Doctors who say that vaccinations do not cause autism are the same doctors who report that they do not know what causes autism, so how do they truly know that vaccinations DO NOT cause autism? My husband and I often watch the video tapes of our son before he had his 2 year old vaccinations and we do note a difference in the way he behaved. We know he had the tendencies beforehand, but we tend to think the shots put him over the edge.
Of course. let us not forget the environment. We have blamed environmental changes for so many problems, why not issues with our children? Again, it is worth thinking about. In truth, we probably have more disabled children now than we ever did before because we are better at diagnosing than we were years ago. Our diagnostic tools are far more sophisticated than before. Teachers are alert to disabilites, as well as parents, pediatricians and other caregivers. This also leads to the problem of overdiagnosing and misdiagnosis, but that is another hub for another day.
The bottom line is that we have the tools now to understand and care for our children. I am very grateful to medical science and educators for the knowledge available to those who live with and care for my son and others like him. We, as a society have come a long way from the years when some who was a bit different was locked away, never given a chance to contribute, to be a vital part of the world. Disabled children now have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and become productive adults. Maybe one of those adults will be someone who helps others with his or her disability. Its possible, if we keep growing.
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About the Author
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- From: bizymomof3
- About Me: I am a busy mother of three. My oldest son has a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome which has become a full time job. I spend a great deal of my time educating people about Aspergers and making sure that his services are in place. Each year we battle the Department of Education in order for our son's education to be handled properly. Much of what I write or post will be about issues of special needs parents/children and adults. I have been a teacher for 20 years. I am currently employed as a part time Museum educator, which is interesting and alot of fun. I have two other children, both are soccer players, very bright and keep me just as busy as the oldest child. I have published two articles in my local newspaper about raising a child with Aspergers and I am currently working on a novel about the same subject. I have published a children's book, Spenser's Pencil, which took place while I was a third grade teacher. I never have enough hours in the day to get everything done, so I
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Comments (3)
//Doctors who say that vaccinations do not cause autism are the same
doctors who report that they do not know what causes autism, so how do
they truly know that vaccinations DO NOT cause autism?//
In science, nothing can be "truly" proved or disproved; what can be shown is the LIKELIHOOD of something occurring or not occurring. In the case of the link between vaccines and autism, the evidence shows that the claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism is unsupported (food for thought: http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/06-why-does-vaccine-autism-controversy-live-on/article_view?b_start:int=2&-C=)
Also, to claim that argument A is true because it has not been proven false is an argument from ignorance fallacy. By your argument I could claim that:
A) No doctor truly knows that invisible, sentient pineapples from Saturn DO NOT cause autism;
B) Therefore, invisible, sentient pineapples from Saturn cause autism.
The other point on vaccines is that concerned parents need to approach the issue from a multi-faceted approach; in other words, learn how to conduct a damn risk-benefit analysis. Understand the risks involved in child vaccination, and understand the benefits as well; compare them and then make a conclusion.
//Many years ago, life was simplier, food was natural, may have not
lasted as long, but it was eaten when fresh, discarded when old and far
healthier for us all.//
Many years ago, people and entire civilizations died from smallpox. The Black Plague was a big deal. Polio sucked ass. Penicillin didn't exist. Life expectancy was far less than it is today. Sure, life may have been "Simpler" (whatever that means) but it was also harsher. Also I don't think people are as inclined to eat rotten foods today any more than they were in the past, so the whole "eaten when fresh, discarded when old" notion hasn't changed much.
//In truth, we probably have more disabled children now than we ever did
before because we are better at diagnosing than we were years ago. Our
diagnostic tools are far more sophisticated than before. Teachers are
alert to disabilites, as well as parents, pediatricians and other
caregivers. This also leads to the problem of overdiagnosing and
misdiagnosis, but that is another hub for another day.//
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm inclined to think that the increase in medical technology has given us the ability to better detect disabilities and illnesses that we never could in the past. Let's hope it keeps improving.
The numbers are rising because psychiatrists, psychologists, etc. want money.
The most obvious answer is actually that there may not be more differently abled kids these days. Diagnoses are rising because of changes in social attitudes and diagnostic practices. ASDs in particular were not widely known even in professional communities in the 80s, and might have been considered shameful by parents. They're almost trendy today, and are widely known. In fact, Asperger Syndrome wasn't included in the DSM-IV until 1994 (which may explain much of the increase in diagnosis since the 1980s!)
Environmental causes cannot be entirely ruled out, but vaccination can. There is no link between vaccination and autism, which means that there can be no causative connection. We can thus assert such a negative with certainty even if we do not know for certain what autism's causes are. Those doctors you mention are also actually getting close to understanding the causes of autism, and discarding vaccination as a possible cause was an important part of that process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_autism
For your comments on diet...I don't really even know where to begin. There is so much wrong there and I don't really want to write a novel. Suffice it to say that "natural" is unrelated to "healthy," everything is chemicals, the hormones and drugs used in the raising of food animals are in general pretty safe, and that our food supply is actually safer and healthier than it's been in the past.