Sorry, I just don't believe that there are that many kids with the same disorder. A few years ago nobody felt the need to label kids as one thing or another, it was called being an individual, having a personality.
Every single kid I've met whose parents have had them diagnosed with Aspergers/Autism (or mucking about as it used to be called) just seems a bit wimpy to me rather than ill. They usually fall into two distinct categories, chavvy parents whose kid won't pull their socks up or upper middle class parents whose kid thinks they are a bit more special than the others and rules don't apply to them. Most can usually be found sitting on the couch at 11am on a schoolday. God help them when they get to working age, they'll be straight on benefits as they won't be able to associate work with reward as most of them just get allowed to behave how they want and get to go and do whatever their specific supposed savant trait is, usually they get to draw or play with model bricks or summat while the other kids get on with learning useful stuff.
I think there is a lot of misdiagnosis going on, that's for sure, and over-labelling can be counter-productive. But in the olden days, you would not have met a low functioning autistic person as they would have been in an institution somewhere and the high functioning ones would have been labelled odd, weird, reclusive etc.
An autistic person's individuality is what the issue is - because they may do odd things, people think that they are strange or even retarded in some way. They can be shunned. Their personality is not one that fits in with social "norms". If labelling them helps with their being accepted widely throughout society and makes "normal" people more tolerant, then it is a good thing.
Society is absolutely responsible for drug abuse, just as it is crime. It's not a coincidence that the places with the highest social equality have the lowest rates of these things.
This is so far from my experience of autism as a parent and teacher it is not funny.
I think it can sometimes do more harm than good. However you know your own child and what makes their life easier and healthier.
If it helps, the children that you described above do not sound autistic to me - more like ADHD. If you met a genuinely autistic child, you would maybe understand a bit better. They do not "muck about" - they are trying to conform in a world that is alien to them. Watch the movie "Temple Grandin" - you may find it very interesting.
Okay, so what's your reasons for the sharp increase in autism? Considering your so quick to write off other peoples views on the cause of autism, what's yours?
Every single kid I've met whose parents have had them diagnosed with Aspergers/Autism (or mucking about as it used to be called) just seems a bit wimpy to me rather than ill. They usually fall into two distinct categories, chavvy parents whose kid won't pull their socks up or upper middle class parents whose kid thinks they are a bit more special than the others and rules don't apply to them. Most can usually be found sitting on the couch at 11am on a schoolday. God help them when they get to working age, they'll be straight on benefits as they won't be able to associate work with reward as most of them just get allowed to behave how they want and get to go and do whatever their specific supposed savant trait is, usually they get to draw or play with model bricks or summat while the other kids get on with learning useful stuff.
Or read "Send in the Idiots" by Kamran Nazeer, himself autistic. One of the best books I've ever read on any topic. He slam dunks the CTs and Andrew Wakefield rather nicely.
There is no more autism it's just that the condition in now better recognised and governments are funding their support so they can receive an inclusive education within mainstream schools instead of being hidden away in special needs schools.
Every single kid I've met whose parents have had them diagnosed with Aspergers/Autism (or mucking about as it used to be called) just seems a bit wimpy to me rather than ill. They usually fall into two distinct categories, chavvy parents whose kid won't pull their socks up or upper middle class parents whose kid thinks they are a bit more special than the others and rules don't apply to them. Most can usually be found sitting on the couch at 11am on a schoolday. God help them when they get to working age, they'll be straight on benefits as they won't be able to associate work with reward as most of them just get allowed to behave how they want and get to go and do whatever their specific supposed savant trait is, usually they get to draw or play with model bricks or summat while the other kids get on with learning useful stuff.
Great documentary by Louie Theroux - Extreme Love: Autism
I don't think people have really understood my post about parents having their kids diagnosed with aspergers etc. I do believe it is over diagnosed but I'm not talking about genuine autistic kids, read the first few lines of the post. Read and understand. SO many knee jerkers on here it's exhausting.
That depends on the level of Autism. There is a school relatively near us south of Winchester which is a specialist state school for children with autism who can not deal with mainstream education. The daughter of a friend of ours goes there.
I believe it is over diagnosed too, but are you saying that some parents are choosing to have their kids diagnosed with asperger's?