I have been receiving TAP Magazine The Autism Perspective since Volume 1 Issue 1 and I have to say I am impressed with the latest issue. I have really seen this magazine move towards acceptance and celebration.
The only reference of "epidemic" I found was in the coverage of the Autism Speaks benefit. "Unnerving increase" was also used BUT the Living with A.S.D. and other articles more than made up for it.

Here are the ones I LIKED:

It's Not About Jobs, It's About Income and Interests by Chantal Sicile-Kira:
It's about creating small business with "special interests" in mind.
Great quote:
"Those who are helping the business owner are his employees, not his aides. Isn't that a wonderful shift of power?"

There's no Place Like Home by Lisa Edmond
It's about home schooling

A Drug Free Approach - Homeopathic Care for Exceptional Kids by Ian Luepker

The Importance of Self-Advocacy Skills by Tom and Emily Iland

Finding Woody by Mary Brown
It's about learning that not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say.
A good quote "Capitalize on some kids' strong visual acumen or auditory skills, and we may find that they have more to say than we ever imagined"

What Abilities Does Autism Mask? by Rita Rubin

The Things That Really Helped Me by Temply Gradin

I LOVED THIS ONE!
OneDay, Mother Nature Tossed A Very Different Kind Of Pebble Into The Pool Of Humanity by Johnny Seitz
It's beautifuly written. (kind of reminds me of something The Weird Girl would write)
Good quotes "God Does Not Make Garbage!"
"Today great handfuls of these special pebbles and landing in the pool of humanity."
"I pray that this is only the first of many such communities who will recognize the intense silent face of Mother Nature writ large upon the children who are coming now in droves."
"I cried because my mother loved me and taught me that I was loveable exactly for who and what I had been made to be, me!"

On being 'non-verbal' by Donna Williams
Good quote "In the absence of shared verbal language, never forget there is a language of behaviour that we can all tune into and learn when we stop imposing a foreign dictionary upon what we see"

Globetrotting: China, Finland, and England by Stephen Shore
Good Quote: "(in Finland) people with autism were accepted and integrated into the fabric of life just like everyone else"

I think this magazine did a good job of providing, well rounded and unbiased information that reflect all opinions and a lot of them I actually share too. : )

There does seem to be a belief in an autism "epidemic" in there amonsgst all the words.

I can't help comparing these epidemic beliefs with the beliefs of the American Witch Craze of the 1980s, when vast numbers of children were widely believed to have been ritually murdered by a conspiracy of Satanists, or the belief in "alien abductions" which took its place in the following decade.

According to the World Health Organization, the United States has much the highest incidence of mental illness in the world, so it's unsurprising that irrational beliefs of this kind should flourish in that country, and spill over in a smaller way into England through our common language and media.

I've read reports on the American Witch Craze. Wasn't there even quite a famous book written by a supposed "survivor" of self-proclaimed abuse by nearby family members? I cannot recall her name right now, but as far as I can remember, she claimed everything from repeatedly being raped by her father to having been pregnant with his child. I belive it was later revealed that she had somehow dreamed all this up under hypnotic suggestion and that it had never actually happened. I wish I could remember the title of the book.

Gareth and I were interviewed for that magazine but afaik it has not been in print yet.

Peter, there were many such books, and "training" videos produced by religious "counsellors" for the benefit of social workers and law enforcement officers in the United States.  Important sounding academic conferences were held to discuss the threat of Satanic Ritual Abuse, and some "experts" stated that as many as 60,000 people a year in America and Canada were murdered in acts of Satanic blood sacrifice - that is, approximately three Satanic murders for each "ordinary" homicide during the same period. In some cases, people were actually imprisoned for offences which could never have happened, and for which there was no evidence of any kind.

When we read that the incidence of autism has increased by 2000% in the last fifteen years, a "fact" I read just yesterday in an American newspaper, I always remember the enormous capacity of the American people for intensely held extra-rational and contra-factual belief.

Oh, yes, I'm aware of this phenomenon as well. I've done some studying up on it in the past. I was not aware that the percentage of people claimed to be "murdered" by make-believe "satanic cults" was as high as 60,000 people, though. After reading your post, I searched for more information on the phenomenon on Answers.com, and the information I came across there seems to reflect the numbers you specified perfectly. It's frightening that people in general are this easy to scare into a blind panic.

I also found this page, which held (among other things) the name of the book I previously was searching for; "Michelle Remembers". It was, apparently, pivotal in starting the whole hysteria. It also held quite a good quotation, namely: "Never attribute to Devil-worshipping conspiracies what opportunism, emotional instability, and religious bigotry are sufficient to explain." --Shawn Carlson, Ph.D.

I'm inclined to agree with him.

I look forward to reading it! It's a quarterly magazine so it might take an issue or two.

I was thinking maybe people could post other good reading material for parents. You know, "AFF approved"  

The 'List of resources' post's link isn't working for me. :?:

Yes, I have to agree with you guys regarding us Americans and our 'conspiracy theories'. We tend to get all riled up over nothing; too much trust in the media.  :oops: Those numbers are comical.

Thanks,

Rae

I'll make sure I won't miss the issue with Amy & Gareth's inteview!  :wink:  Now that I found the site, I will buy  a couple of issues myself.

Martina

Indeed, it is hilarious when scaremongers a) try to make out the source of Albert Einstein's fascination with physics to be a fearsome disease and b) fail to account for diagnostic improvements. Not hilarious in a nice way.

Exactly.