Autism is an Epidemic....Can Scuba Therapy Help?

[DiveHeart]

Autism is an epidemic....Scuba Therapy can help. Midwestern University and Diveheart collaborated to do the worlds first research on Autism and Scuba Theapy....it's Amazing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sckAnlNnX8s&feature=youtu.be
#autism #autismawareness #autistic #autismtherapy #rehabilitation #disabilities


YOUTUBE.COM
WGN News Medical Watch Autism & Scuba Therapy
WGN News Medical Watch highlights a study done by Midwestern University and Diveheart on Autism and the many benefits of scuba therapy. *********************...

 

[tursiops]

Since autism is not contagious, there can't be an epidemic of it. Your hyperbole does not help make your case.....

 

[johndiver999]

xxx

 

[johndiver999]

Since autism is not contagious, there can't be an epidemic of it. Your hyperbole does not help make your case.....

Epidemic - Wikipedia

An epidemic disease is not required to be contagious,[2][4] and the term has been applied to West Nile fever[2] and the obesity epidemic (e.g., by the World Health Organisation[6]), among others.[4]

Perhaps the World Health Organization and Webster Dictionary is wrong as well?

Definition of EPIDEMIC

2a: excessively prevalent

 

[Bigbella]

Interesting story; though I have no more desire to be around profoundly "autistic" scuba divers than either claustrophobes or agoraphobes in a crowded, stopped elevator. That kid in the video would pose the least of my concerns.

Since The DSM-III was revised in the eighties, and broadened the diagnostic criteria, to include, basically "bored in school," sure, "autism" has become an "epidemic;" though, there were also studies that suggested that "autistic children 'clustered' where resources for diagnosis and treatment were greater . . . [W]here there's more access to diagnostic services, the autism rate is higher."

"If you build it, they will come."

Scheiß, I could even qualify, based on the current spectrum. I was hyperactive as a kid; bookish, and none too social.

Where do I go for my gub'ment cash and support group?

Majority Of Autism Increase Due To Diagnostic Changes, Finds New Study


A colleague / old classmate was involved in this study:
Increased Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders

 

[tursiops]

Epidemic - Wikipedia

An epidemic disease is not required to be contagious,[2][4] and the term has been applied to West Nile fever[2] and the obesity epidemic (e.g., by the World Health Organisation[6]), among others.[4]

Perhaps the World Health Organization and Webster Dictionary is wrong as well?

Definition of EPIDEMIC

2a: excessively prevalent

There are different kinds of dictionaries, i.e. those that describe how words are currently used, and those that are more proscriptive as to what is "right."
So quoting Wikipedia is never compelling, and Merriam-Webster (descriptive) is not compelling.
The Oxford Dictionary (proscriptive) is more reputable: "a sudden outbreak of infectious disease that spreads rapidly through the population, affecting a large proportion of people. The commonest epidemics today are of influenza."

Granted, "epidemic" is used colloquially by many to mean widepread. But it sounds so much cooler to say epidemic.

See what Scientific American had to say (8 years ago) about an autism epidemic.
Even older is this peer-reviewed paper on the subject.
A recent (2015) paper suggests fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid; among them (#3 on the list!) is "autism epidemic."

Bottom line? There is no good evidence for an autism epidemic, only for more diagnoses today because what used to be called something esle (or not called anything at all) is now classified as autism.
That doesn't mean it should be ignored, but rather that it is not a sudden epidemic that is upon us....

 

[johndiver999]

OK then.... just thought the OP could/should be cut a little slack on the vernacular he uses in his own thread.

The nitpicking on this forum is approaching epidemic proportions..

 

[tursiops]

OK then.... just thought the OP could/should be cut a little slack on the vernacular he uses in his own thread.

The nitpicking on this forum is approaching epidemic proportions..

I apologize for my insistence on accuracy.
There has been too much social media with posts that are downright false, and at best misleading.
I get aggravated by hyperbole...it sounds more like clickbait than rational discussion or simple information.
This thread has a great video for us to watch.....isn't that enough without inventing epidemics?
I appreciate DiveHeart's focus on those with disabilities. But I'd like to think that can be done without being over the top.

 

[DiveHeart]

Since autism is not contagious, there can't be an epidemic of it. Your hyperbole does not help make your case.....

Since autism is not contagious, there can't be an epidemic of it. Your hyperbole does not help make your case.....

I apologize for my insistence on accuracy.
There has been too much social media with posts that are downright false, and at best misleading.
I get aggravated by hyperbole...it sounds more like clickbait than rational discussion or simple information.
This thread has a great video for us to watch.....isn't that enough without inventing epidemics?
I appreciate DiveHeart's focus on those with disabilities. But I'd like to think that can be done without being over the top.

Understood, I was using it as a metaphor. Autism is widespread and extremely prevalent and a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something is in the actual definition. One out of every sixty some odd young people and one out of approximately forty males are diagnosed with autism. You're right though. it's not contagious as far as we know. Thanks for the correction.

 

[tursiops]

Understood, I was using it as a metaphor. Autism is widespread and extremely prevalent and a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something is in the actual definition. One out of every sixty some odd young people and one out of approximately forty males are diagnosed with autism. You're right though. it's not contagious as far as we know. Thanks for the correction.

Please note that the statistics you are quoting are driven by a broader and more inclusive definition of autism, not by an actual increase.