Whether Autism Is Caused by Diagnoses

¶ … Autistic children being born increasing, or where they always there but now being diagnosed more? Autism refers to a spectrum of related disorders, generally classified as neurological developmental disorders, which impact communication, cognition, and behavior. A considerable amount of information exists about the signs and symptoms of autism, which helps to classify types of autism. Unfortunately, however, little is known about the causes of autism. Genetic defects that impact brain development are suspected, however (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2016).

Rates of autism have increased since the first case was recorded in 1943, but those rates of increase are likely due to the simple fact that autism was never previously recognized as a cohesive disorder and therefore cases were not being diagnosed as such. Moreover, the field of psychology is relatively new and cases of any psychological disorder would not have emerged until relatively recently.

As Suresh (2015) puts it, the rise in autism is a "statistical mirage," as widening definitions of what constitutes autism combined with more robust reporting practices are most likely to be reasons for the increased rates of diagnosis. Even though changes in diagnostic criteria and methodology may account for most of the increases in autism prevalence, there have been some suspicions that environmental causes are to blame. Chief among suspected causes is vaccinations.

Although no evidence supports the idea that vaccinations against infectious diseases causes autism, the need to find an easily identifiable and controllable cause has prompted a considerable degree of pseudoscientific discourse. Research into whether autism is actually on the rise due to environmental factors or due to increased reporting is based on a pragmatic worldview, which may combine qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to approach a topic as open-mindedly as possible.

Pragmatists also believe that context is key, which is why it is important to acknowledge that the history of psychological research and trends in reporting will influence data on autism. Using a mixed methods research design is critical, because it is technically impossible to locate prevalence rates of autism before the condition had been identified.

It would be helpful to sift through historical reports describing children with autism-like symptoms, even fictional accounts that might indicate that people did recognize that some children exhibited the behavioral signs of the autism spectrum disorders. However, a robust quantitative analysis would also be helpful to illustrate how rates of autism have increased in recent generations -- since the condition was first recorded in the 1940s. As Suresh (2015) shows, the definition of autism has changed and continues to change.

Therefore, part of the research would be tracking official definitions of autism spectrum disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Official definitions are what enable official diagnoses, which in turn impact reporting rates. Tracking the numbers of new diagnoses as the definition of autism spectrum disorder expands would be able to reveal any suspected correspondences. Similarly, the autism spectrum disorders include a number of sub-categories that did not exist a few generations ago.

Increased rates of diagnoses are likely related to the fact that more children are being labeled as having one of the autism spectrum disorders. The "high functioning autism" type disorders are the ones most likely to have gone undiagnosed prior to that designation by psychologists. Many parents might not have even known that their children's behavioral.