autism (Page 9)

An epidemic of autism cases has swept through California in the last 15 years. The number of people with autism being served by the California Department of Developmental Services increased by 273% from 1987 to 1998, and is still growing by about nine cases per day. That increase cannot be explained away by better data, improved diagnosis, or immigration.
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The U.K. Medical Research Council feels that a massive and coordinated research effort to identify the causes of autism is urgently needed and believes that autism and related disorders are far more common than previously thought. So far, there is no firm evidence linking any environmental elements with the disease.

Autism and related disorders affect six in every 1,000 English children under the age of eight, the research team found. The previous figure was between one and two per 1,000. The increase is due to changed ideas about what constitutes autism, as well as increased awareness of the condition.
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