FARGO, North Dakota—Of all the absurd arguments epidemic denialists deploy to explain away the autism explosion, none is more intellectually bankrupt than “better diagnosis.” It’s the go-to talking point for every vaccine industry spokesperson, every conflicted researcher, and every journalist too lazy to examine the actual data. And it’s complete nonsense.
Let me be blunt: If you believe that better diagnosis explains why autism went from affecting 1 in 10,000 children to 1 in 36, you’re either uninformed, repeating lies you’ve heard, or lying yourself.
In 1987, researchers published a prevalence study of autism in North Dakota. They looked at all 180,000 children under eighteen in the entire state. They assessed children in person. The data was peer-reviewed, published, and replicable. They foun…
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