The "autism epidemic" seems to be statistically a fact. In the 1980's autism was known to affect about 1 in 1,000 children, but now the National Institute of Health estimates the number to be 1 in 150. This kind of increase seems to show without a doubt that the number of autistic children is indeed increasing.

But these raw statistics really show a very different picture of what's going on. Instead of showing an increase in autism, what they are showing is the vast improvements that have been made in public awareness, diagnosis, and tracking of the disorder.

The increased incidence of diagnosed autism mirrors the pattern of discovery and rising awareness seen in so many other areas of study. In astronomy, the first planet detected in a different solar system was a tremendous discovery; now, they are discovered weekly. In medicine, the first illnesses confirmed to be caused by bacteria turned the scientific world on its ear. Now new diseases are discovered all the time, and no one finds it unusual

Autism is like these phenomena, where identification and study made it clear there's a lot more happening than previously thought. Autism may be occurring no more frequently than in the past, but we can now see it more clearly. A closer look at the history of autism makes it clear that this is indeed the case.

AUTISM "DISCOVERED"

In 1943 Dr. Leo Kanner of Johns Hopkins studied a group of 11 withdrawn and developmentally stunted children, and described their condition as "infantile autism syndrome". Previously, the term "autistic" had only been used to describe the withdrawn nature of schizophrenics, but Kanner's work put a whole new meaning on the word.

The "Kanner Criteria" for autism were formalized by 1956 and became the standard for autism diagnosis for the next 20 years. They were 1.) lack of affective (emotional and interpersonal) contact; 2.) desire for sameness; 3.) fascination with objects; and 4.) mutism or non-communicative language before 30 months of age

Around the same time a German scientist, Dr. Hans Asperger, described a milder form of the disorder that became known as Asperger syndrome. In Asperger's, the children were "higher functioning" and less withdrawn. His research was based on a study of four children he saw in his practice, raising the number of children with "autistic spectrum" disorders to 15. Asperger's study remained obscure for many years (his work wasn't translated into English until the 1990's),

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