We are not talking about that. Have YOU looked at the criteria that are used to diagnose "autism" at an ever-increasing rate?
There are two very different issues under discussion. One is autism. It's possible that genuine autism cases are increasing, and it's possible that vaccines are a cause. Opinions on that are obviously mixed, and I, personally, don't have an opinion.
The other issue is the money-driven labelling of "autistic" for any child whose social interaction is different from what a day-care provider or schoolteacher considers "optimal." For example, there was a post from a FReeper a while back whose 3-year-old son was in preschool. The boy (only child, with very involved parents and grandparents) knew numbers, letters, and colors, but didn't always mix with other children easily. The parents were called in for a conference because the teacher was sure the boy was "autistic."
This sort of thing is a terrible disservice to families dealing with genuine autism.
"Have YOU looked at the criteria that are used to diagnose "autism" at an ever-increasing rate?"
The criteria was widened, I do not deny that. I'm sure it does account for part of the increase but it certainly didn't account for all of it. We went from 1 in 10,000 in the 80's to 1 in 166 today.
"The other issue is the money-driven labelling of "autistic" for any child whose social interaction is different from what a day-care provider or schoolteacher considers "optimal."
Where is the monetary incentive for a day-care provider or school teacher to label a kid as autistic? I didn't realize that they had a quota to meet.