A psychologist reveals the main cause of autism (hint: not vaccines)

According to a recent Monitoring summary by the CdcThe prevalence of autism increased significantly among children eight years old. This statistics has caused concern, curiosity and unfortunately, a resurgence of the outdated and inaccurate theories about the causes of autism.

However, despite the headlines, the Internet Echo Chambers and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. May you tell you, this rise does not Note an unexplained spike in the number of people born with autism. Nor does it point to the increase in children “become autistic”. The reality of this statistical element is much more promising: mental health professionals are simply improving autism early.

Thanks to the constant strict psychological research, we know much more about autism today than we did just a few years ago. Here is what we know about its prevalence and causes – and what we can permanently exclude.

What we know about autism, its prevalence and its causes

As defined in the American Psychiatric Union DSM-5Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, usually characterized by deficits in social communication. People with ASD can also present limited and repetitive standards for their interests, behaviors and preferred activities.

However, for decades, both researchers and lay people had incredible restrictive views on these symptoms actually It looked like.

About 50 years ago, professional diagnoses were generally intended for children who presented the most serious and visible manifestations of the situation. These children were often non-verbal, delayed deeply in learning or developmental milestones and, in some cases, dealt with self-inflicted behaviors. Due to these closely defined criteria, mental health professionals at that time believer Autism affected less than 1% of children – about one in 2,500.

Today, however, autism is estimated to affect about 3% of children – one in 36.

In the nominal value, this increase in prevalence may seem intuitively alarming. Some people have even begun to indicate that autism is becoming something like an “epidemic”. But allegations like these are largely misleading.

In fact, what we really see is a well -exaggerated change in the way professionals understand and detect autism. Mental health experts now recognize that autism rarely presents in an original way. Symptoms of individuals may vary widely in terms of behaviors, strengths, challenges, communication forms, sensitivity and the degree to which these characteristics affect their daily lives and function.

That is why, today, autism is understood as a spectrum disorder – because the two people do not experience it in exactly the same way. And, like Cdc It explains in their surveillance summary, “Differences in the prevalence over time and on all sites can reflect different practices in evaluation and identification and availability and availability and requirements that affect the accessibility of services.”

In other words, this increase in the impact reflects our growing ability as a society to recognize and diagnose neurotransmission more accurately and accurately. Ie, they must not To be regarded as an indication that there is something that causes more children to “take” autism.

In fact, we already know what is causing autism: genetics.

This understanding is supported by decades of research, led by pioneer twin study published Psychological medicine In 1995. In this study, the researchers found that if an identical twin had autism, there was a chance of 60% to 90% that the other twins would show ASD marks. Among the brotherly twins, this agreement declined significantly – to 0% and 30%.

Since then, even more recent studies They have identified a series of genes related to the development of autism, which have further enhanced the role of heredity in its appearance.

Conspiracy and misinformation about autism

Almost all public mistrust around the cause of autism can be detected back to a single, now annoying study published The Lancet In 1998, in this document, British physician Andrew Wakefield falsely claimed that there was a link between the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and red) and the appearance of autism. Not only this study was completely unfounded, but it was also completely fraudulent, according to the Newspaper of medical arrangement.

The study was based on a tiny sample of just 12 children and Wakefield chose deliberate data to match its predetermined narrative. It also conducted invasive (and wild unnecessary) medical procedures in children without proper moral approval.

As if he could not worsen, he failed to reveal not one but two Significant conflicts of interest. These included an economic tie (over £ 400,000) in a group that followed differences against vaccine manufacturers, as well as the self-made “diagnostic kit” for a non-existent “form” of autism. The latest conflict, in particular, offered him an even more intense opportunity for profit – as heavy up to $ 43 million.

After years of control, paper was formally withdrawn from The Lancet In 2010, Wakefield was stripped of his medical permit. The General Medical Council described its behavior as dishonest and irresponsible. Today, Wakefield is a stable anti-vaccination activist and since then has been is described as “one of the most serious scams in medical history”.

However, despite his withdrawal and the absolute lack of reliable elements behind it, many people still believe that vaccines can cause autism. Over the years, more unfounded claims have been followed: that autism is caused by poor parenting, artificial food additives, toxins or environmental reports. But none of these theories remain under scientific control.

To say that allegations like these are blatant would be a devaluation. Arguing that these factors cause autism is just as absurd, as they say that ice cream causes sharks attacks. Sounds ridiculous, and that is – Because there is a significant logical error that supports this argument: the association of correlation with the causal relevance.

Ice cream sales tend to grow during the summer months, as are shark attacks. But we know it would be intense to believe that they are the sharks of ice cream on the coast. There is an obvious variable missing in the game: the weather. Warmer weather leads more people to buy ice cream and swim in the ocean. The relationship between ice cream and shark attacks is purely coincidental.

However, the same incorrect logic is non -existent in the argument that vaccines cause autism. Vaccines are, for good reason, they are systematically administered to early childhood – about the same time that the signs of autism are often felt. But time does not equal to causal relevance.

To insist that one causes the other is to ignore decades of research, as well as to overlook the simplest and more scientifically supported explanation: that autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with strong genetic bases. Is not caused by vaccines, parental care or anything else outside. People in the autism spectrum have always existed – long before we have a name for the condition or diagnostic criteria to identify it – and they will always do it.

The impact of autism has not changed at all. Our ability to recognize and understand that it has, and this is not something you have to fear. If anything, it is something that must be incredibly grateful.

The perceived increase in autism development is just one of the many psychological misconceptions. How many others are you misled to believe? Take this test supported by science to find out: Psychological Discount Questionnaire