Status: This is the reality of autism
How many of us live with autism? This question has long had the same answer in Europe: around 1% of the population will be diagnosed with autism at some point in their lives. That doesn’t sound like much, which is why neither autism research nor services for autistic people have been adequately funded or developed.
In Denmark, there hasn’t even been a study on the prevalence of autism in the adult population. Instead, the National Board of Health and Welfare cites British research that gives the figure of 1% (2% in men and 0.3% in women).
The problem is that it could turn out not to be good enough. Neither the fact that no such study has been done in Denmark nor that the figure is 1%. The latest figures from the US show that 1 in every 59 people have autism. This equates to approximately 2%.
While one might speculate that the differences are due to Americans’ unhealthy lifestyles or other geographic factors, research has uncovered another reality: more diagnoses are almost entirely due to improved abilities to spot and diagnose the autism spectrum disorder.
Research has also recently solved one of the mysteries of autism: why there was a 70% higher prevalence of autism in white American children compared to children of Hispanic descent. An examination of various factors that could have influenced these figures revealed that the prevalence of autism was highest in children of affluent parents. Social status is equal to access to quality healthcare in the US.
A large part of the dramatic increase in the number of new cases of autism in the US in recent years is therefore simply due to the fact that the healthcare system has become significantly better at reaching out to vulnerable citizens. Today, the gap between the number of white and Hispanic children diagnosed is down to 22% – a 48% improvement!
Are there more people with autism in Denmark?
Denmark has also seen an increase in the number of people with autism over the last 30 years. However, it is difficult to find figures on how many people are involved and therefore difficult to assess whether there are still dark numbers.
The National Board of Health and Welfare’s figure is still at 1%, which is hugely problematic as autistic people are, according to researchers, becoming more and more dependent on help due to increased demands from their environment. This means that there are more people today who can’t make it compared to 20 years ago.
That’s why it’s very important that autism becomes a topic we discuss openly – even if it can be painful. In recent years, we have had a lot of TV coverage of the “good” autism, but we need to shed light on what is difficult, what many families struggle with on a daily basis.
It’s equally important to focus on the symptoms of autism. This will make it easier for parents and educators to spot autism and help children in the best possible way. It will also make it harder for mental health services to ignore the symptoms of autism, which unfortunately in some cases are either overlooked or choose to ignore them due to tight budgets.
We need accurate figures on how many people live with autism in Denmark and to what extent they are affected by it. This is necessary in order to offer them and their families appropriate help and support.
Last but not least, political decisions must be made to improve the conditions for autistic people in Denmark. Only after this is a reality can we say that we have reached the American state of affairs – which in this case is quite a positive thing.
