So, I was listening to the radio on the way to work this morning, and a commercial came on and it said that 1 in 166 children are diagnosed with autism in its various forms.
I can't even believe it. My gast was completely flabbered. HOW is that even possible? ONE in ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX. Period.
Seems to me that autism used to be a fairly 'rare' occurence, and it was always pretty severe when you did hear about it.
ONE in ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX. Children.
Wow.
I can't wrap my brain around that.
I know that quite a number of you handle the issues of varying degrees of autism every single day, so what I'm wondering is this:
How is it possible that, up until recently, the signs of autism were overlooked?
Or has it always been this number, only nobody used to talk about it?
Or is the 'measuring stick' in determining whether or not a child is autistic in some way improperly calibrated? Perhaps the "norm" is skewed?
Or is it simply being used more often as one of those 'excuse' diagnoses--you know, like when they have a normal, very energetic kid that is slapped with the ol' ADHD label because Mommy & Daddy don't like disruption in their pretty little lives? Not to mention the fact that Mommy & Daddy feed the kid sugar in all its forms and let him/her stay inside watching TV & video games instead of riding bikes and playing Two-Below football, cupball, and exploring the great outdoors. But that's a-whole-nother rant for another day.
Forgive me, I don't mean to imply one bit that autism isn't a serious issue--I only ask the questions out of ignorance.
What's your take? Educate me.
in other news...
Don't forget to nominate your favorites for The 2007 Bloggies!
I've entered my personal choices...have YOU?
This thought just now popped into my head and made me laugh because it was so stupid:
Geek's Country & Western Song: "She Thinks My Protractor's Sexy"
You don't have to laugh. It's okay. I'm just easily amused and...simple. Yes, simple, that's it.
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