At this point, there are so many myths surrounding autism that it’s difficult to know what’s true and what’s not. Unless someone close to you has been diagnosed with autism, then you may be in the dark when it comes to the disease.
For starters, autism affects one in every 68 people. Boys are 4.5 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Furthermore, regressive autism is twice as common among African-American children compared to white children.
Here are four of the most common myths about the disease debunked just for you.
1. Autism is caused by vaccines.
Ever since Jenny McCarthy stated that she believed that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine was the cause of her son’s autism, panic and fear started to set in among parents everywhere. However, according to several reports, including to this one by the Institute of Medicine, there’s no direct correlation between autism and vaccines.
2. There’s an epidemic going on.
Yes, it’s true that there are more diagnoses than there were say maybe 20 years ago, but there isn’t necessarily an epidemic going on. It has more so to do with increased awareness, along with better education and diagnostic methods these days.