Australian Autism

On Neurodiversity™

Unbekoming

Dec 03, 2023

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AGE OF AUTISM

Amelia recently pointed me to a recent article by Ann Dachel on autism in Australia that I think is worth amplifying.

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As I was reading it, I noticed how the numbers washed over me. You drown in the numbers.

Here’s a taste…

Autism Rates in Australia: Varying reports suggest high autism rates among children, with figures like one in 25 or one in 23.
Increase in Disabled Students in Schools: A 29% increase in disabled students in Australian public schools since 2015.
Autism Diagnoses Increase: A 25% increase in autism diagnoses between 2015 and 2018.
NDIS1 Participation: Over 75% of NDIS participants under 18 have autism or developmental delays.

Industrial oligarchy, using childhood vaccination as a brain inflaming tool, has damaged the world brain, which has brought on this tsunami of welfare cost.

Dachel’s article gives us a snapshot of the narrative in Australia.

…it’s the incentives, and those lying and cheating parents taking advantage of the system.

…it’s over diagnosis.

…it’s better diagnosis.

It’s anything and everything except the thing that it is. Government mandated industrial chemical poisoning.

Toby Rogers is the main voice discussing the cost tsunami.

In 2015, autism cost the U.S. an estimated $268 billion a year in direct costs & lost productivity; given current rates of increase, autism costs will reach $1 trillion a year (3.6% of GDP) by 2025 (Leigh & Du, 2015). As a point of comparison, the U.S. Defense Department budget is “just” 3.1% of GDP.

Frankly, a picture is better than a million words, and there is no better picture than this, primarily sourced from Toby’s masterpiece.

The Political Economy of Autism - by Toby Rogers - uTobian (substack.com)

There is a push to romanticize Autism. It’s been going on for a while.

Neurodiversity™ is the main narrative here. It’s not a disability, it’s just Diversity™ seeking Inclusion™.

Neurodiversity™ is the most breathtakingly ingenious slimy framing of disability.

This from How to end the Autism Epidemic by Handley.

Romanticizing a Devastating Disability
As an autism parent, if I immerse myself in Mr. Silberman’s fictional version of autism and its history for long enough, it all starts to sound sort of fine, if not even a little great. Autism is just a different way of thinking. It’s always been here. People with autism are gifted and have so much to offer the world. Heck, a new TV series on ABC, The Good Doctor, brings autism even further into the mainstream—the central character is a doctor with autism who has extraordinary powers to heal.
Unfortunately, the Good Doctor is like a guy with a small limp and a cane representing paraplegics to the world. His story is fascinating and compelling but bears little resemblance to the autism most parents, myself included, actually deal with every single day. And on a personal level I resent the way Mr. Silberman, The Good Doctor, and many neurodiversity advocates are romanticizing a devastating disability. If you “discovered you have autism in college,” you don’t have the autism now afflicting more than one million American children. Including my own son.
Despite what you may have read, the definition of autism has remained remarkably consistent over time. Because autism can’t be diagnosed with a blood test, it’s diagnosed through observation, and anyone possessing enough qualities of autism has autism. The hallmarks of an autism diagnosis include early onset of symptoms (typically before thirty months), an inability to relate to others (called “social-emotional reciprocity”), “gross deficits” in language development, peculiar speech patterns, and unusual relationships with the environment (attachment to inanimate objects, rigidity, etc.)
As Olmsted and Blaxill explain, “Most with an autism diagnosis will never be employed, pay taxes, fall in love, get married, have children, or be responsible for their health and welfare.” In fact, upward of 50 percent of children with an autism diagnosis are unable to speak at all, according to the California Department of Education. A study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders showed that 28 percent of eight-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit self-injurious behavior (they physically hurt themselves). Maternal and Child Health Journal published a study showing that kids with autism are twice as likely to be obese. A study in Pediatrics showed 35 percent of young adults with autism have never had a job or received any education after high school. The average cost to support an individual with autism over his or her lifetime? $2.4 million.
If those figures aren’t bad enough, a study published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities showed that children with autism are also considerably sicker than their non-autism peers. Asthma, skin allergies, food allergies, ear infections, severe headaches, and diarrhea or colitis are all far more likely to be present in a child with autism. In fact, the gastrointestinal problems of children with autism were so much worse than any other group that the study authors thought it deserved special attention, noting “one finding stood out in particular when we compared the developmental disability groups to each other: Children with autism were twice as likely as children with ADHD, learning disability or other developmental delay to have had frequent diarrhea or colitis during the past year. They were seven times more likely to have experienced these gastrointestinal problems than were children without any developmental disability.” Recently, National Public Radio reported that people with developmental disabilities are seven times more like to be sexually assaulted and that the assaults typically “happen in places where they are supposed to be protected and safe”—a nightmare scenario for every autism parent.
Finally, and tragically, the organization Autism Speaks estimates that fully one-third of children with autism also have epilepsy, “a brain disorder marked by recurring seizures, or convulsions.” And a European study in 2016 found that people on the autism spectrum “are dying younger than the average person - by 12 to 30 years” with the leading cause of early death being epilepsy. Is this the same happy world Mr. Silberman depicts? Not on your life. Or theirs.

With thanks to Ann Dachel below, with some thoughts from me.

Autism In Australia: A Morass of Thoughts

By Anne Dachel, Media Editor for Age of Autism.

Australia can’t figure out what to do about all the autism. One report puts their autism rate at one in every 25 children, another at one in 23.

Experts are in denial. It’s either over-diagnosing or more of the “better diagnosing” that we’ll always hearing about. Either way, it’s NOT MORE AUTISM. Nothing to worry about.

On November 12th there was a story out of Australia about closing special schools and mainstreaming disabled students by being “inclusive.”

Interesting to see “inclusion” used this way, as a decoy and coverup of the real problem. This really is the genius of how industry captured the Left. The Left that was meant to be a check and balance against the excesses of capitalism. This is such a perfect example. What a masterstroke. The captured Woke acting as perfect propagandists for Big Pharma.
The unholy alliance between capital, postmodernism, and left authoritarianism (substack.com)
In our current era, as the exploitation has grown even more despicable (global biological fascism), the ruling class has needed to come up with even more clever tactics. Enter postmodernism and left authoritarianism. The ruling class literally figured out how to take their fiercest critics and weaponize them to serve capital. It’s really their most extraordinary achievement — a level of mind control beyond anything the Pharaohs could have dreamed of. – Toby Rogers

I’m sure this was motivated by the soaring number of special needs children they have to educate.

ABC News: If special schools close, students with disability need more inclusive mainstream education, experts say

In its final report handed down in September, the disability royal commission called for the phasing out of segregated education by 2051.

It's a call that has sparked deep debate.

Even the six commissioners disagree. Only three — including the two who live with disability — recommended phasing special schools out. The other three did not think a total phasing out of special schools was necessary.

"There has to be a bigger investment in our [mainstream] education system. And this is an opportunity to do that, for it to be better for all."

Of course the real problem is something that barely got a mention.

Since 2015, the number of students with disability enrolled in Australian public schools has increased by 29 per cent, according to the Australian Education Union's 2023 For Every Child report.

How do they explain an increase of almost 30 percent in less than 10 years?

Of course, they don’t.

The call for inclusion came on the heels of an announcement that there’s been a 25% increase in autism diagnoses between 2015 and 2018.

Nov 12, 2023, Medical Republic: MBS shake-up needed to support autism care

The RACGP has provided input into the National Autism Strategy, which closed for submissions on 30 October, outlining the important role for GPs as the first port of call for autism care and the need for better remuneration.

A growing number of Australians are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder each year – there was a 25% increase between 2015 and 2018.

In 2022, the federal government announced the development of the National Autism Strategy, which would cover “key reform areas including access to services, healthcare, education, and employment”.

That same day it was announced that Australia’s autism rate had reached one in every 25 children, which would also mean one in every 16 boys. In trying to explain this stunning rate it was alleged that some parents were scamming the system to get their kids qualified for services they don’t really need.

Nov 8, 2023, Sydney Morning Herald: The unique factor that could explain why autism rates in Australia are growing faster than the global average

Autism rates in Australian children are among the highest in the world, leading a senior researcher to suggest the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) could be driving steeper than average growth in diagnoses.

“It is plausible that the growth of prevalence rates above the global average in Australia can be attributed to the financial incentives created by government policy, specifically the implementation of the NDIS.”…

They will seek reforms to make the scheme more sustainable given projections that its annual cost will soar to more than $100 billion [$64 B U.S.] by 2032, in part due to a higher-than-forecast number of children joining with autism.

More than 75 per cent of NDIS participants under 18, and 45 per cent overall, have autism or developmental delay, which can often precede an autism diagnosis.

Ranjan said neurodiversity and autism were no longer rare, …

Ranjan’s research, which has not been peer reviewed, quotes international studies that show autism prevalence rates of one in 36 children in the United States, one in 50 children in Canada, and one in 57 children in the United Kingdom. In Australia, it is about one in 25 [one in every 16 boys].

Coverage from Skye News also made the claim that autism really isn’t this bad in Australia; it’s really OVER DIAGNOSING.

Nov 22, 2023, Sky News: ‘Turbocharged’ neurodiversity movement: Rising number of young children on NDIS

Psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed says he’s interested in seeing how the government will try to claw back the broad autism label, as data shows 12 per cent of boys aged between five and seven are on the NDIS.

“We’ve basically turbocharged a sort of neurodiversity movement and these huge incentives to have these labels,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“Now the government wants to claw this back – it will not be easy.

“There’s such a strong interest group around this now.

“While they’re making noises that they’re going to claw it back, I’ll be very interested in seeing how they do that.”

VIDEO:

News anchor speaking on the revelation that 12 percent, a full 12 percent, of boys aged between five and seven in this country are on the NDIS! Twelve percent! More than one in 10! And it’s five percent for girls! Why is this happening, Tanveer?

Psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed: Autism has become this board label that now sucks up all manner of social and behavioral problems, and there’s a huge financial incentive to do so.

As a result, we basically turbo charged a sort of neurodiversity movement. …

Claire Rowe: Child and Adolescent Psychologist: We’re saying 12 percent of young boys are disabled in this country. Clearly everyone knows that’s not the case. …

The Guardian weighed in on the issue presenting the parents’ side and denying that there is a financial incentive for them to have a child diagnosed with autism.

Nov 21, 2023, Disability advocate hits back at ‘misleading’ claims that NDIS funding is incentivising autism diagnoses

An advocate for people with disabilities has criticised as “unhelpful” and “misleading” reports suggesting families are pursuing autism diagnoses because they see the NDIS as a financial opportunity.

“The NDIS isn’t a sort of financial incentive,” said Skye Kakoschke-Moore, chief executive of Children and Young People with Disability Australia.

“At the moment, the NDIS feels like the only place to turn for children and young people with disability when they need support. But what we also know is at the moment, the current system is broken. It’s unfair, it’s complicated, and really, it’s not delivering results for children and young people with disability.”…

The real issue, as far as the government is concerned, is not MORE AUTISM, but HIGHER COSTS

Shorten has been championing the need for reform of the NDIS and what he calls the “disability support ecosystem” since last year, when the October budget projected that the cost of the program would increase from $35bn [$23B] in 2022-23 to $52bn [$34B] in 2025-26.

The cost of the NDIS is projected to grow by approximately 14% per year without intervention; the federal government aims to cap the scheme’s growth to 8% per year.

Another story put Australia’s rate at one in every 23 children, and we were advised not to worry about the numbers, but to celebrate autism.

Nov 21, 2023, Conversation: Australia’s rates of autism should be celebrated – but real-life impact, not diagnosis, should determine NDIS support

Ahead of the release of the government’s review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the topic taking centre stage is the diagnosis of autism. Over one third of people accessing the scheme list it as a primary disability….

Is autism “over diagnosed” in Australia due to the NDIS, or is it being better identified? What the data really shows

Recently reported non-peer reviewed research suggests the NDIS has fuelled Australia’s diagnosis rates to be among the highest in the world at one in 25 children. But the same research reported Japan – with early identification and supports in place since the early 1990s – has similar rates.

The United Kingdom reports a prevalence rate of one in 34, based on 2000–2018 data for 10- to 14-year-olds.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a 2020 prevalence rate of one in 36 children aged eight.

Before the full nationwide rollout of the NDIS, 2020 research based on the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children showed a prevalence rate of one in 23 (4.4%) in 12- to 13-year-olds – even higher than the recently reported paper claiming NDIS was driving up autism diagnosis rates.

Increases in autism over time could be the result of better diagnosis

We’re getting better at identification…

Another reason for the rise of autism diagnosis is a phenomenon known as “diagnostic overshadowing”. This is a tendency to explain all differences in a person based on their primary diagnosis….

Australia is at the forefront of identifying autism early, consequently improving children’s and families’ quality of life. Our rates of early diagnosis should be celebrated, not demonised.

Regardless if this is better diagnosing or over diagnosing, the numbers just can’t be real.

No one wants to consider for a moment that something is causing massive numbers of Australian children to be seriously disabled. That can never be the topic. It’s much better to celebrate autism.

Lies are Unbekoming

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