Now 1 in 150 babies born are later diagnosed with autism or autistic spectrum disorders. The problem seems to have gotten much worse in the early 90s, right when the children born to mothers all around the world who might have been exposed to low levels of radiation during the chernobly incident would have been turning about the right age to show developmental defects.
Is it possible that the recent autism epidemic is a result of radiation poisoning caused by Chernobyl in 1986?
Miss_Chievous
New member
Its probably a lot of factors that doctors can't pinpoint, It could be a genetic predisposition, the increase in people getting vaccinated and the amounts of mercury in the vaccinations, maybe an increase in radiation, increase in chemicals, diet and allergies, the fact that medical science is now able to help babies born prematurely to survive (premies and babies that have a difficult birth are more likely candidates for autism). So there are many theories but no true answer yet.
Maggie girl
New member
Interesting idea. Ideas and theories should be ruled out by research or known facts before people dismiss them, or our own paradigms will prevent us from learning. I've been learning a little about autism lately, and one factor seems to be improved and/or increased diagnosis. Kids who were considered just insane are now being diagnosed with autism. I'm not calling the kids insane, just saying we understand how to communicate with autistic people better. I would imagine that radiation level increases would be noticed, as it isn't that difficult to be measured. One source of radiation around the same time is microwaves in every household. I know we had microwaves slightly earlier, but it did become household, as well as cell phones.There does seem to be some genetic link or increased risk. Larry, come on... the brain activity develops differently in autistic children from a very young age. Where are you getting hispanic country from?
Larry
New member
The increase in autism isn't world-wide. It's mainly in America where people hate being diagnosed with mental disorders. They would rather have a neurological disorder; and many autistic symptoms are prevalent in even normal children. Autism is therefore easily diagnosed as an alternative to such things as obessional or schizoid personality disorder. If you look up the DSM IV criteria for autism, you will find something really suspicious. It says that "Aspergers Syndrome" must be ruled out if the child has a history of abuse. In other words, the DSM IV recognizes that the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder are easily confused with autism!Barbara; there has been no increase of autism in Hispanic countries.