Is Autism An Epidemic?

I've always had this discussion with my mother and my wife about how so many children are being diagnosed with autism nowadays. I've always argued that in the Philippines, it isn't really spreading like some sort of disease, but rather affected by different factors.

The first thing I argue is the lack of expertise. Going just a few years back, there weren't that many doctors specializing in developmental psychology or neuro-developmental studies. Take our case for instance. Our current doctor move to Pampanga a couple of years ago. Now she has patient coming to her from all over the province. To cope, she has had to seek residency in 2 other hospitals just so she could see all her patients and that they aren't inconvenienced. She had told us previously that she would hate to have an initial consult and not be able to see the progress of the child.

Another thing I argue is that the country's population has increased exponentially and with that a rise in the number of children who will potentially be diagnosed with autism. Filipino women also tend to get married at a later age nowadays and that has been proven to increase the risks of having a child with ASD.

Now, I never really thought about it. I didn't know that this subject is a hot topic elsewhere. Say for example this article that argues that changes in the way doctors diagnose patients has affected the "perceived" increase in cases. Other points of view would attribute the spread of the disorder to vaccination, which was being argued by this article. And just like every parent trying to cope with it, I applaud all efforts to settle all these doubt and questions. I was happy to read that strides are being made to do just that. I found 2 articles describing efforts in the United States and United Kingdom to do just that -- gather more evidence to once and for all answer the question.