By Allen Frances
Allen Frances MD was Chair of the DSM IV Task Force
SAN DIEGO – Not long ago, autism was among the rarest of disorders, afflicting only one child in every 2,000-5,000. This changed dramatically with the publication in 1994 of DSM IV (the manual of psychiatric diagnosis widely used around the world). Soon, rates exploded to about 1 per 100. And a large study in South Korea recently reported a further jump to 1 in 38 – an astounding 3% of the general population was labelled autistic. What is causing this epidemic and where are we headed?
The natural reaction to any plague is panic. Parents are now fearful that every delay in speech or socialization presages autism. Childless couples decide
