1. The Data

What do the data showing a steep rise in autism diagnoses reveal - and hide?

A 20-year study in the UK showed an astonishing eightfold rise in new autism diagnoses on an exponential curve. We hear from the study’s author Ginny Russell and ask how the numbers compare in other parts of the world. And Professor Joshua Stott explains how a surprising discovery at a dementia clinic led him to calculate that that enormous rise in diagnoses may still undercount the country’s autistic population by as much as 1.2 million.

Archive: BBC; CSPAN; Fox News; CNN.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: Neil Churchill
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman