Epidemic of False Diagnoses of Autism

The purpose of this study is to determine the reason for rapidly escalating diagnoses of autism. In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 1 in 44 children were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, for a prevalence rate of 2.27% of the population. In 2012, a review of global prevalence of autism found 62 cases per 10,000 people, for a prevalence rate of 0.62 percent. This apparent 266 percent increase in autism prevalence is in stark contrast to all other disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), for which there has been no increase in prevalence over this same six-year period. The increase in alleged autism prevalence from 0.62 to 2.27 percent is entirely due to the DSM-5 creation of a false and overly broad autism spectrum (ASD) catch-all category that includes conditions unrelated to autism. These figures suggest that 70% of those who have been given an ASD diagnosis may not be autistic. What the psychology professions urgently require is a causal based definition of autism, as recommended in this report. Autism is an inherent neurophysiological difference in how the brain processes information and is caused by a dysfunctional cingulate gyrus (CG), that part of the brain which focuses attention.