Rising Concerns: The Growing Prevalence of Autism and Down Syndrome in Today's Society

johnfuller on 31/07/2024 - 16:43
Last edited 31/07/2024 - 16:44 by 1 other user

I'd like to discuss a serious and seemingly widespread issue: autism and Down syndrome, particularly autism. When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above, they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome, known by everyone, and they were treated just like everyone else, leading a normal life. Nowadays, a child born with autism or Down syndrome has their life significantly adjusted to accommodate their needs.

I've observed that many families have at least one child on the autism spectrum, and some even have two, despite the parents being unrelated. This appears to be becoming increasingly common, raising concerns about the future and whether our children will be able to have their own children, given the prevalence of this issue.

In my opinion, this situation is more alarming than any pandemic because it is insidious and often goes unnoticed.

Is it pollution? The environment? Stress? The food we eat? Plastics?

As a new parent, this truly terrifies me.

Health & Beauty Autism

Comments

  • original15 on 31/07/2024 - 16:49
    +11

    Got any articles or research or figures to suggest it is increasing and an issue. I mean it’s likely it’s on the up but by how much? And why? Gotta bring something in to this convo.

    Wouldn’t rely on what you’re seeing and hearing vs what the 80yr olds can recall from their village and incidence of something that wasn't described in the DSM until the 90s

    • jv on 31/07/2024 - 20:07

      I mean it’s likely it’s on the up but by how much?

      Why is it likely?

  • Porker on 31/07/2024 - 16:50
    +5

    Just enjoy your newborn - be thankful they are without the challenges you worry about within this post.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/07/2024 - 16:52
    +11

    I often joke that I must be on the spectrum- but the more I read into it , I’m thinking it might not be a joke - it would explain so much! My poor eye contact, my anxiety in social circumstances (unless in work scenario , where I’ve got a pre defined and meticulously crafted persona), my predefined routines, not being able to keep or make friends IRL etc - but I still managed to live a .. reasonably.. normal life - thankfully there is way more support and resources these days, than say 30 years ago.

    • mrdean on 31/07/2024 - 16:58
      +2

      My poor eye contact, my anxiety in social circumstances

      Yes, good examples. Looking back to my early years, I recognise I had both, especially the eye contact. In the last ten years, this has changed, eye contact & anxiety are no longer issues.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/07/2024 - 19:11
        +1

        Was it though medication, sheer force of will, self help book, or you just grew out of it? I hope it’s the last one… and I hope I haven’t missed the deadline 🥲

    • brendanm on 31/07/2024 - 18:07
      +2

      I'm your friend jimothy.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/07/2024 - 19:09

        My misso: JW you really need to make some friends… you’re getting isolated and weird.

        Me: I have plenty of friends on ozbargain!

        Misso: that doesn’t count!

        • brendanm on 31/07/2024 - 21:00
          +1

          Of course it counts 🙂

    • justworld on 31/07/2024 - 18:19
      +7

      I'm a barrister and I'd say 70% of us are autistic

      Now where's my NDIS funded sex worker and personal chef? (Don't tell my wife)

    • kranix on 31/07/2024 - 21:46
      +1

      If you think you may have autism, there are some fairly simple places to start. The best site I've found is this one. Many autistics are DSM level 1 and often don't find out until much later in life. Neurodivergence covers 30-40% of the population according to some estimates.

      If you score highly on the screeners, it's pretty simple these days to get a proper assessment done and get help afterwards. We've come a long way in society.

  • randomusername2017 on 31/07/2024 - 16:57
    +3

    Location north sydney

    /End

  • Duckie2hh on 31/07/2024 - 16:59
    +3

    known by everyone, and they were treated just like everyone else

    They lying to you boo. I thought they throw them off the cliff^

    ^Reference: https://www.history.com/news/8-reasons-it-wasnt-easy-being-s…

  • mrdean on 31/07/2024 - 16:59
    -4

    The environment?

    Yes, its primarily environmental assaults/insults/exposures, either during pregnancy or in infancy.

  • spackbace on 31/07/2024 - 16:59
    +5

    I've observed that many families have at least one child on the autism spectrum, and some even have two

    Well that goes against the stats…

    It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in Australia have Autism.

    In 2018 there were 205,200 Australians with Autism, a 25.1% increase from the 164,000 in 2015 (Source: ABS SDAC 2018– Autism in Australia).

  • Duckie2hh on 31/07/2024 - 17:00
    +4

    Is it pollution? The environment? Stress? The food we eat? Plastics?

    Don't forget the 5G

  • TheOtherBigAl on 31/07/2024 - 17:01
    +20

    Wow, that's quite the rambling you've posted there OP. First up, Autism and Downs are completely unrelated. To mention them in the same sentance, let alone the same paragraph, shows a willful ignorance: Autism is a spectrum disorder, while Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder.

    Beyond that … open some books, do some reading. And perhaps most importantly, get off Reddit, Facebook and Twitter. Turn off the Sky News.

  • Dollar General on 31/07/2024 - 17:06
    +4

    For autism perhaps it’s better diagnosis in the past decade or so compared to previously

    • OutOfTime on 31/07/2024 - 17:12
      +4

      Definitely, there's much better awareness = less people undiagnosed
      Not sure if there's actually an increase of people with it, rather, just more are diagnosed nowadays

  • ihfree on 31/07/2024 - 17:10
    +2

    What is your source OP? IIRC, there was a similar question in a recent "We're pregnant thread"

    Down Syndrome could be tied to people having children later - Mothers over 35 are more at risk(Health Direct).

    For autism:

    Some studies have suggested that changing criteria over decades and improved awareness have led to more people being diagnosed…

    Source: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-unique-factor-th…

    Air pollution may also be a factor for autism.

  • soan papdi on 31/07/2024 - 17:18
    +7

    When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above, they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome, known by everyone, and they were treated just like everyone else, leading a normal life

    The 80 year old you spoke to is spouting BS. Society on the whole has evolved to treating Down's kids a lot better.

    Here's a quote from the founder of the Down's Syndrome Association in the UK
    https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/about-dsa/our-history/

    At that time, people who have Down’s syndrome were generally referred to as ‘mongols’; they were considered to be educationally sub-normal. Many people who have Down’s syndrome lived in institutional settings such as long-stay mental hospitals. Parents were often encouraged to leave their children in such institutions and to forget about them. If they did take their children home, they could expect very little support in the community.

    ASD is similar. We are more aware of the causes. Instead of blaming the parents, we acknowledge the condition.

    From https://nationalautismcenter.org/autism/historical-perspecti…

    At the time, treatment for autism was very limited. Most of these children were placed in institutions, far from the public eye, to live out their lives. Professionals commonly held the view that “refrigerator mothers” were responsible for the symptoms observed in these children. Deficits in the children’s functioning were assumed to be linked to poor attachment and/or absentee parenting (Bettleheim, 1967). Because parents were often blamed for their children’s disorders, many experienced great shame for having a child with ASD.

    Much has changed in the last six decades. We now know that autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder, is most likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although we would like to think that parents are no longer blamed, all-too-frequent examples demonstrate how autism is still widely misunderstood.

    Totally understand the worry you feel but rationally, there's no better time to be a baby than today. In western society at least. You have an incredible amount of information, medicines, resources and social medical assistance if you ever need it. Don't let a few worries ruin your time with the new baby. Good luck in your parenting!

  • mskeggs on 31/07/2024 - 17:21
    +5

    If you stop suppressing things, people feel freer to discuss their issues.

    We watched the original movie Twister the other night. A scene where one of the characters was belittled for needing therapy hasn't aged well.
    But when I was a kid getting labelled as autistic or Asperger's or ADD was a negative, and if you could mask your behaviour to avoid it, you almost certainly did.

    Now we have improved willingness to provide accommodation to people with different neurologies, so we can give them a better path at school, work and other areas.

    It's a bit like when the teachers stopped hitting the left handers with a ruler, all of a sudden there are more lefties.

    • ChrisLevo on 31/07/2024 - 17:49
      +2

      Peer-reviewed scientific proof of that statement?

      Crickets…

      • mrdean on 31/07/2024 - 18:00
        -2

        It has been admitted in some cases as a "contributing" cause.

        https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/13164/chapter/1
        page 110 of 866.

        “In addition, the three publications described above presented clinical evidence sufficient for the committee to conclude the vaccine was a contributing cause of measles inclusion body encephalitis after administration of a measles-containing vaccine.”

        National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    • CurlCurl on 31/07/2024 - 18:40

      It has already been proven that vaccines can cause encephalitis and inflammation of the brain.

      Inflammation of the brain in childhood has been correlated with increased risk of developing autism.

      Looks like you have have had six put together to come up with that rubbish.

  • shaybisc on 31/07/2024 - 17:41
    +1

    Is Downes syndrome going up? Should be going down with folate in everything, prenatal screening and elective abortions.

  • Clear on 31/07/2024 - 18:00
    +1

    At least now there's a whole lot more genetic screening available to detect down syndrome before birth. SA Pathology run SAMSAS in multiple states for screening and account for about 85% or 20,000 tests per year.

  • Ocker on 31/07/2024 - 18:08
    +1

    Genetics?

    • mrdean on 31/07/2024 - 18:14
      -5

      No, they only promote genetics as the primary cause because its the direction scientific research has taken & because of the tools invented that enable them to artificially alter genes & engineer them.

  • Drakesy on 31/07/2024 - 18:11
    +1

    *and ADHD.

    Have a family friend who's coping mechanism to keep their kid quiet was give them their phone/ipad.
    Kid was hyperactive and wouldn't stop running around etc.

    She took the kid to 4-5 psychologists, until one gave her the "correct" diagnosis and she got the ritalin/Dexamphetamines she wanted.

    All the other psych's said the kid just needed to be outside more/get into sport but she wouldn't take their advice.

  • justworld on 31/07/2024 - 18:18
    +1

    Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder

    Autism is a condition with a spectrum and no one single cause

    To suggest that some component of modern living is acting on both conditions, noting their entirely different aetiologies, is like saying that modern life is contributing to more asthma and more broken legs.

    One common thread I can think of is that the NDIS heavily incentivises both parents and treatment providers to classify children as having autism for funding's sake. This can mean that more borderline cases are diagnosed. Same goes with ADHD. However, Down syndrome has a specific chromosomal test and so is not subject to 'diagnosis inflation'. Having said that, more older women are having kids, and maternal age correlates very closely with Down Syndrome risk.

    • MrThing on 31/07/2024 - 19:02

      down syndrome is black and white as you suggest, you either have it or not.

      however there is still a spectrum of how severe the case is. I am sure we have all come across high funding down syndrome people who hold down jobs versus down syndrome people who need round the clock care

    • CurlCurl on 31/07/2024 - 19:04

      Having said that, more older women are having kids, and maternal age correlates very closely with Down Syndrome risk.

      There is a medical test for that.

  • Ghost47 on 31/07/2024 - 18:19
    -1

    If there's actually an increase and it's not due to better diagnosis (honestly it seems like more people are self-diagnosing these days due to autism being on a spectrum, e.g. high functioning autism) then it could be due to environmental factors affecting epigenetics and gene expression, just off the top of my head.

    Either way the most prudent approach to having kids IMO is ensuring you and your spouse are eating a very healthy diet which includes eating fresh fruits and veg and exercising regularly. I would say that helps to minimise any chances of your children being born with health issues. And no I'm not saying this will definitely prevent any issues from arising, that would be silly.

  • CurlCurl on 31/07/2024 - 18:44
    -2

    In my opinion, this situation is more alarming than any pandemic because it is insidious and often goes unnoticed.

    In my opinion, if you have a 5G phone you best get rid of it quick.

  • MrThing on 31/07/2024 - 18:53
    +1

    all thats happened is we introduced the word "spectrum" and now its "autism spectrum disorder" which includes autism and Asperger's

    now the NDIS is the biggest money pit us tax payers pay for

    and since its such a huge pot of free money everyone has come out of the woodwork trying to grab a slice of the pie…..parents, doctors, providers, scammers, criminals, etc

    time to lock it down, remove certain bs subjective disorders and put pricing caps of certain services/medicines/products/devices/etc and only contribute a percentage kind of like how Medicare does

    • mrdean on 31/07/2024 - 18:59
      -1

      Time to objectively look at the root causes & the true incidence.

  • rumblytangara on 31/07/2024 - 19:03
    +2

    they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome, knownby everyone, and they were treated just like everyone else, leading a normal life.

    I call BS. And what's your background that you are talking about older people living in villages?

    I've observed that many families have at least one child on the autism spectrum, and some even have two

    I call BS again.

  • GordonD on 31/07/2024 - 19:07

    There were hardly any people with "autism", until the psychological profession saw the opportunity to themselves of grapping Aspergers Syndrome and calling it a type of autism. Suddenly they had 10 times as many people who were "autistic" and required their treatment.

    You have to look at where "autism", as it is currently officially defined, occurs. Curiously it is not randomly distributed across all types of schools. It is much more prevalent in the rich suburbs and rich schools can get more funding by having more "autistic" students, and where the parents can get special assistance, and where the students can get special considerations. And much less prevalent in poor public schools.

    When you offer people some financial advantage for something, and that something as poorly defined as "autism", or Aboriginality, or something like that, suddenly a whole lot more of them come out of the woodwork.

    • CurlCurl on 31/07/2024 - 19:15

      You have to look at where "autism", as it is currently officially defined, occurs. Curiously it is not randomly distributed across all types of schools. It is much more prevalent in the rich suburbs and rich schools can get more funding by having more "autistic" students, and where the parents can get special assistance, and where the students can get special considerations. And much less prevalent in poor public schools.

      Pardon?

      • GordonD on 31/07/2024 - 19:34
        +1

        I don't need to be pardoned, thank you. I've seen the numbers for NSW schools.

        And, no, I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I was told three decades ago I should investigate whether I had Aspergers, then told by someone who should know that I almost certainly was but they weren't allowed to make an official diagnosis. Back then we tried to persuade people that we were better than neurotypicals at certain jobs, and they should jump at the chance at employing us. Only for the psychological profession to come along and rename it "on the autism spectrum", which portrayed us as retards who needed their help, destroying all the good work we'd done to portray ourselves positively. Then everyone jumped on the free lunch wagon. Me too. Me too. And we were rolled in with all the kids who had behavioural problems and their parents couldn't cope with for any reason.

        Autism is quite different to what Asperger saw and described back in the 80s. The number with autism hasn't increase. It was just that the psychology profession grabbed Aspergers, called it autism too, and rolled in a whole lot of other development and parenting problems, and bingo they had 10 times as big a customer base.

    • Save Medicare on 31/07/2024 - 21:39

      I think it was a Nazi thing. Same reason behind Wegener's granulomatosis

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/07/2024 - 19:08

    Plastics

    I often think all those times I microwaved the hell out of my left over siu mai, har gow, 馬拉糕 etc from Saturday yum cha in the take away container if it was actually releasing toxins into that delicious delicious left overs. Hang on - what if that WAS the reason it tasted so good after waking up hungover on Sunday at 3pm 🤔

    • follow on 31/07/2024 - 19:41
      +2

      I think that too sometimes haha. Midway through eating a steaming microwaved meal, I swear to myself next time I'm in IKEA, I'll replace it all with borosilicate glass. Still haven't gotten around to it.

  • Benoffie on 31/07/2024 - 19:11
    +2

    I just dont know if I should even bother.

    As an autistic individual in their middle age, and only recently diagnosed (2017), that benefit was only afforded to me as it became a recognised reality in 1994 (after I was born) and even then women (and high IQ at that) struggle to gain diagnosis.

    It has always existed. Autism is genetic. Any diagnosis where it pops up out of the blue is either a) a rarity or b) attempting to shoe horn something else into the NDIS because that system is just crp. An example is my nephew who is not autistic is diagnosed as being autistic because the NDIS didnt know how to classify his actual diagnosis of a rare chromosomal deletion disorder. The recorded traits of that disorder present similar to autism ergo….

    Not only does this type of essentially governmental mismanagement cause issues for individuals who are labelled incorrectly and cannot correctly own and live with their actual disability but it grossly skews statistics in both cases which impacts funding.

    Actually autistic people (there's even a whole hashtag for it) dont want this stuff happening. They dont support it and see it as a watering down of their community.

    In terms of historical prevalence, in my own family, I have enough solid evidence to show multiple generations being autistic (at least back to the mid 1800s). WW2 RAF reports on my grandfather very clearly articulate what we would have previously called Asperger's and now call Autism. I dont believe the actual brain divergence rate has altered significantly over time.

  • ForkSnorter on 31/07/2024 - 19:25
    +5

    When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above

    That is a real scientific investigation you’ve conducted there. Who needs data when we can count on you to ask some 85-year-olds?

    I've observed that many families…

    Continuing the scientific approach, I see.

    In my opinion…

    Excellent. Who needs facts when we’ve got opinions?

    • rumblytangara on 31/07/2024 - 19:28
      +2

      Someone else in the thread dug up OP's rant about PTFEs. I think this is a second round a windmill-tilting.

  • punkindrublic on 31/07/2024 - 19:26
    +1

    For autism, my suspicion is that the guidelines for diagnosis have become significantly looser in recent years. The incentives to get diagnosed have also increased because of the NDIS. If your child is ASD Level 2 or above they're eligible for support payments - you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that there's a financial support incentive for parents that get a diagnosis, while medical practitioners would be pressured to just give in and upgrade a Level 1 ASD (with no support) to Level 2 (with support).

    I'm sure that in this mix there's children and adults who weren't diagnosed under the earlier regime, so it's not all terrible. But I suspect there is overdiagnosis at play, just like how ADHD was overdiagnosed in the 90s and early 2000s.

  • brad1-8tsi on 31/07/2024 - 20:01
    +4

    When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above, they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome,

    That's because they died or were squirreled away into an institution for their whole life.

    • Benoffie on 31/07/2024 - 21:35

      For example, the Strathmont Centre, Minda etc in Adelaide. Now all pushed out to families and community care models.

  • jv on 31/07/2024 - 20:09

    I've observed that many families have at least one child on the autism spectrum

    Where did you observe that?

  • JimmyF on 31/07/2024 - 20:15
    +1

    When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above, they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome

    Back then, if you had a child with Autism or Down Syndrome it was often hidden away from everyone or even given up.

    But using that view, you also didn't see teenage mothers or even unmarried mothers that often either. As we all knew what it meant when a girl went to stay with a 'relative' for the summer or winter before returning.

    Societys views and acceptance on these topics have changed lots.

  • TightLikeThisx on 31/07/2024 - 20:51
    +1

    When I speak with individuals aged 80 and above, they recall that there was typically one person in their village with Down syndrome, known by everyone, and they were treated just like everyone else, leading a normal life.

    Maybe it's because they grew up in villages not cities.

  • michaelTito on 31/07/2024 - 21:15

    Yeah I agree. We got a few of them in our discord channel.

  • Ughhh on 31/07/2024 - 21:18
    +2

    If you go back a couple hundred years ago, or in third world countries/villages now, there's probably 0% DS, autism etc. But lots of witches and possessed people.

  • belongsinforums on 31/07/2024 - 21:57

    I was speaking to a 6 month old about the state of the economy and why McDonald's changed from their colourful aesthetic to brown tones. According to her, it never used to be like that back in the day. What is happening in this world? Coincidence? Maybe it's the fluoride in my tap water?

  • FlyingMiffy on 31/07/2024 - 22:04

    Are you sure its not just a matter of improved awareness and/or better understanding of what autism is?

  • GrueHunter on 31/07/2024 - 22:11

    many families have at least one child on the autism spectrum, and some even have two, despite the parents being unrelated

    what

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