Mark Roth of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has published a new story taking a more in-depth look at the rise in autism diagnoses over the past two decades.  Some autism organizations claim that the United States is currently facing an autism epidemic.  Roth reports on a 2006 study by Paul Shattuck that looks at this dramatic rise in autism.  From the Roth story:

A 2006 study in the journal Pediatrics found, for instance, that the national increase in identified autism cases in elementary schoolchildren between 1984 and 2003 had been paralleled by a similar decrease in the number of children labeled as retarded or learning disabled

The entire Roth article can be found on the Post-Gazette website.  For another look at explanations for the rise in autism cases, read The Autism “Epidemic”.

Source:  Mark Roth - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Online