Re: NHS must prioritise health of children and young people
Thank you for highlighting this issue so well, John. It seems clear that autism numbers are climbing rapidly with little to no explanation or alarm from public health officials. Instead the focus appears to be solely on services (or lack thereof) and the increasingly long wait lists for same. Where is the concern for the rise in disability and the reason for this rapid rise in the last 20 years? Many studies point to an environmental cause. Surely it is time to look at this with a sense of urgency, putting aside all fear of controversy?
Am I correct in saying that for a figure of 1 in 21 children, this extrapolates to 1 in 13.3 boys since boys are 4x more likely to have an ASD diagnosis? In the US, recent numbers from the CDC show an overall rate of 1 in 37 boys (26.6 per 1,000*). Is this NI number accurate? 1 in 13 boys? That's one or two boys with ASD in every class in the country. How is this sustainable? What is the long term goal for education, work and housing as these children age out? As rates rise, the cost rises exponentially and the toll on families, both emotionally and financially, is untenable. Can the authors respond? Thank you.
Rapid Response:
Re: NHS must prioritise health of children and young people
Thank you for highlighting this issue so well, John. It seems clear that autism numbers are climbing rapidly with little to no explanation or alarm from public health officials. Instead the focus appears to be solely on services (or lack thereof) and the increasingly long wait lists for same. Where is the concern for the rise in disability and the reason for this rapid rise in the last 20 years? Many studies point to an environmental cause. Surely it is time to look at this with a sense of urgency, putting aside all fear of controversy?
Am I correct in saying that for a figure of 1 in 21 children, this extrapolates to 1 in 13.3 boys since boys are 4x more likely to have an ASD diagnosis? In the US, recent numbers from the CDC show an overall rate of 1 in 37 boys (26.6 per 1,000*). Is this NI number accurate? 1 in 13 boys? That's one or two boys with ASD in every class in the country. How is this sustainable? What is the long term goal for education, work and housing as these children age out? As rates rise, the cost rises exponentially and the toll on families, both emotionally and financially, is untenable. Can the authors respond? Thank you.
*https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6706a1.htm?s_cid=ss6706a1_w
Competing interests: No competing interests