Autism Epidemic Paper

The Autism Epidemic
DEP2004
Spring Term 2013

Autism is a rapid growing epidemic in developmental psychology today. The definition of autism has changed significantly over the years. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, autism is defined as a developmental disorder that appears by age three and that is variable in expression but is recognized and diagnosed by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, by impairment of the ability to communicate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns especially as exhibited by a preoccupation with repetitive activities of restricted focus rather than with flexible and imaginative ones. Autism is short for Autism Spectrum Disorder, also known as ASD. New studies are…show more content…
Autism is a really wide-ranging topic. Psychologists have come up with new research to test what causes autism and if there is a possibility for a cure. A couple of years ago it was believed that autism was caused by giving too many vaccines to children. According to Norton (2013), the first worries came from a small British study in 1998 that proposed a connection between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. A spate of research since has found no link, and the original study was eventually retracted by the Lancet, the journal that published it (Another Study Sees No Vaccine-Autism Link section, para. 6). Recent concerns were that parents believed their children were getting too many vaccinations too soon. Norton (2013) states that in the United States, children can be immunized against 14 different diseases by the time they are 2. Norton (2013) also states that a recent survey found that about one-third of parents thought children receive too many vaccinations in their first two years of life, and that the shots could contribute to autism. There is no scientific evidence that too many vaccinations are the cause or linked to autism. The vaccines that children receive are not related to autism in any way possible. According to another article by CNN’s Medical Managing Editor Falco (2013), school-aged boys were four times more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)…show more content…
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