AUTISM: ARE EXPERTS IN USA MISSING THE MARK ON THE INCREASE IN AUTISM? THEY ARGUE IT'S NOT AN ACTUAL RISE BUT RATHER MORE DIAGNOSES. WHAT ABOUT THE SIMILAR SPIKE IN AUTISM RATES IN OTHER COUNTRIES?

ARE EXPERTS IN AMERICA MISSING THE MARK ON THE NOTABLE INCREASE IN AUTISM? THEY ARGUE IT'S NOT AN ACTUAL RISE BUT RATHER MORE DIAGNOSES. WHAT ABOUT THE SIMILAR SPIKE IN AUTISM RATES IN OTHER COUNTRIES HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME AS IN THE U.S.?

 One theory I’ve heard is that more kids are being diagnosed, but I don’t think that fully explains the situation. From what I’ve seen, it looks like a larger number of children actually being born with autism. This is clear from the long waiting lists for ABA programs, especially for kids aged two to five. If it were just about more diagnoses, we wouldn’t have so many toddlers needing these services.

If the uptick in numbers is linked to more diagnoses, it suggests that identifying older children is a key reason for this increase. If that's the case, we should make this clear, especially since the rise has been ongoing globally for over twenty-five years, similar to trends in America, indicating that other countries are also working to improve their diagnostic processes. Moreover, in the U.S., we need to look into why so many kids between the ages of two and five are on waiting lists for ABA programs, considering theories, that the rise is not based on recent and new births.