{"id":29457,"date":"2022-11-09T18:29:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T02:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29457"},"modified":"2022-11-09T18:29:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T02:29:09","slug":"statistics-do-not-tell-the-whole-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/statistics-do-not-tell-the-whole-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Statistics Do Not Tell The Whole Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYour son has autism.\u201d When I first heard those words in 2004, I had no idea what they meant. Autism? You mean like Rain Man? I felt a sense of relief that the behavioral issues we had seen were not \u201cmy fault.\u201d I felt a sense of empowerment, I could do something to help my son. I began to research and learn everything I could about autism. What I have learned over the years, which Tom Chivers and David Chivers discuss in their book How to Read Numbers<\/em>, is that the statistics can be misleading. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2004 the number of children with autism was 1 in 125. This number jumped to 1 in 44 by 2018. The website further notes that boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

What accounts for the dramatic increase in numbers? Chivers and Chivers discuss this rise, stating, \u201cChanges in how statistics are recorded can hugely affect the apparent trend in those statistics.\u201d[ii]<\/a> They detail how changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) changed from version II published in 1952 to the current version, DSM-5. The term \u201cautism\u201d was not mentioned until the third version.[iii]<\/a> The current version uses the term Autism Spectrum Disorder and details diagnostic criteria.[iv]<\/a> These diagnostic changes greatly increased the number of children who receive the diagnosis of autism. Are the number of cases on the rise or are we just being more diligent about diagnosing children with autism?<\/p>\n

I wonder how these numbers might change as diagnostic criteria catches up with the ways in which girls present. My daughter was diagnosed with autism earlier this year at the age of 20. I remember when she was young discussing whether to have her tested with my husband and my son\u2019s Special Day Class teacher. Based on what we knew at the time, my husband and I did not think she has autism and therefore never had her tested. We have since learned that \u201cSometimes, caregivers and even healthcare providers may doubt that a female child is autistic because they do not have the “typical” autism symptoms that are more often seen in boys.\u201d[v]<\/a> The statistics and information we were given at the time led us to a false conclusion.<\/p>\n

Chivers and Chivers book provides insight into how we read numbers and often get it wrong, as my husband and I did with our daughter. Their observations about the changes in the DSM over time provide understanding to the increase in diagnosis of autism.[vi]<\/a> They also remind us that statistics are more than numbers on a page. Numbers \u201ccan go wrong \u2013 and give misleading impressions. But along the way we will need to remind ourselves that those numbers stand for something. Often they will represent people, or if not people, then the things that matter to people.\u201d[vii]<\/sup><\/a> My son and daughter are more than a number, as are the countless families I have met over the years affected by autism.<\/p>\n

There is a benefit to the increase in diagnoses. Families get the help they need. Rather than masking her symptoms, my daughter is learning how to manage them.[viii]<\/a> She is finding a benefit from her diagnosis in resources at college and empowerment to advocate for herself. As the numbers of diagnoses go up, so does the awareness, research, and funding. If we put the numbers into context and recognize that there is a bigger picture than just an increase in diagnoses, we can use these numbers to our benefit. We do not need to cry out that the sky is falling. We can learn from what the numbers tell us, if we learn how to read them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> \u201cData & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder,\u201d Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed November 9, 2022, https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/autism\/data.html.<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> Tom Chivers and David Chivers, How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them)<\/em>. (London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022)., pg. 86<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> Ibid., pg. 84-85<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition (DSM-5)<\/em> (Arlington: American Psychiatric Association, 2013), pg. 50-59<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> Lisa Jo Rudy, \u201cAutism in Girls: Signs, Symptoms, and Underdiagnosis: Autism in Girls May Look Different From Autism in Boys,\u201d Very Well Health, October 9, 2022, https:\/\/www.verywellhealth.com\/signs-of-autism-in-girls-260304<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> Chivers and Chivers, pgs. 84-86<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> Ibid., Pg. 2<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/a> Rudy. The article suggests that one of the reasons girls are less frequently diagnosed is due to their ability to mask symptoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYour son has autism.\u201d When I first heard those words in 2004, I had no idea what they meant. Autism? You mean like Rain Man? I felt a sense of relief that the behavioral issues we had seen were not \u201cmy fault.\u201d I felt a sense of empowerment, I could do something to help my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2088],"class_list":["post-29457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chivers-and-chivers","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29458,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29457\/revisions\/29458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}