Latest CDC number 1 in 36 children diagnosed with autism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the increase mostly in mild forms? Because that's where most diagnostic progress has been made. If we see an increase in severe forms, then that's cause to worry about environmental causes.

Even if it is, shouldn’t we still question why so many kids are diagnosed and whether any of it can be prevented?

+1

Autoimmune disorders are on the rise, allergies are on the rise, asthma is on the rise.

I wonder if we are going to get to 1 in 5 kids with autism and people will still say it's all better detection, broadening definition and mild forms. When will it be enough for people to care about environmental triggers?

None of these are comparable and all have medical evidence and often genetic.

I think they are comparable. There are doctors who believe these are all related to autoimmune disorders. Kids with ADHD and autism are much more likely to get PANS/PANDAS. There’s a high correlation between Celiac and ADHD, etc.

It seems related to me. Kids with ASD have GI issues, disproportionately. There’s the interesting fever effect, in which some kids become more “typical” behaviorally, when they have a fever. There is also a pallor that I see in kids with ADHD and ASD—nobody has been able to explain to me what it is, but it’s noticeable.

Oh ffs. Yes, the pallor. That’s because they are actually vampires.

Look, there was a big story recently about a woman who noticed that patients with Parkinson's had a distinctive odor (her husband had Parkinsons and she smelled it in waiting rooms with other patients. She had to push and push, and finally someone studied it and it is true and potentially useful to early diagnosis:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/23/820274501/her-incredible-sense-of-smell-is-helping-scientists-find-new-ways-to-diagnose-di

I have spent a lot of time around kids with ASD and notice that they often "look" less healthy looking than their siblings who don't have ASD. I have seen it on a lot of kids, including my own. Yet IME, once ASD is diagnosed, nobody is interested in any physical issues. Low vitamin levels, constipation, eczema -- it's all treated individually as having nothing to do with the ASD. Yet there are clearly things going on in the kid's body that are atypical. I hope someday we'll know.

I can’t even express how stupid that is. Yeah sure let’s dx kids with autism because they are pale because of some crap research that claims you can smell Parkinsons.

I just can’t even. I cannot.

DP here. I have no idea about pale kids and ASD but the Parkinsons thing is no joke. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-supersmeller-can-detect-the-scent-of-parkinsons-leading-to-an-experimental-test-for-the-illness/

It’s not a joke that someone is wasting research money on this, and that the media is reporting on it uncritically. Sadly, not a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is downright depressing - just goes to show how unaware we are about this and how much we are caught on labels. It is hard though and I empathize because we want to know the causes and some sort of treatment - both of which are still up in the air. The whole mom blame thing is also a bunch of nonsense. I wasn't at an old maternal age, I was healthy, no underlying issues, nor obesity, blah blah, was extremely careful with what I ate, no history of ASD, but one of my kids turned out ASD Level 1 - we're still stunned sometimes because it came as a shock and yes we plan to reassess but we've just learned to let go of the label, the articles, the nonsense in the media - yes including Elon Musk and just focus on whatever needs our kid needs right now - and if you open your eyes there are plenty of NT kids which are getting plenty of supports in school and a lot of NT kids who aren't assessed at all or will be later on --- it's just a very isolating journey frankly...except in forums like this where it's every man for himself.

Totally get that. And there should be zero guilt. Moms’ choices and weight, age, etc. are not the problem. It is industrial pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals everywhere, poorly farmed food, etc etc etc - by the time mom gets pregnant it is not like her choices make the difference. The damage is done by the world around us. We need research and regulation.

PS I am not saying what specific things do/don’t cause asd. I’m saying if you read pregnancy books like brain health from birth they tell you avoid this, avoid that, but - It is not our fault that freaking everything around us is poison! and the burden shouldn’t be on us to go live in some imaginary bubble separate from the industrialized world!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Autism is a medical condition causing brain inflammation. I wonder how many years it will take for this to be accepted ? How many kids will suffer, how many families will suffer?

There are so many groups trying to normalize autism, saying it's not a bad thing. That will hinder the search for a cause and a cure or prevention.

+100

I also think they'll eventually find that a least a large subset of ASD is inflammatory. PANDAS-caused ASD behavior is clearly inflammatory (and to an outsider, the behavior in that transient period looks identical to ASD). And small scale studies of kids diagnosed with ASD show statistically significant improvement in symptoms on steroid treatment (regression once the steroids inevitably have to be stopped).

I’m not sure what’s worse: this kind of pseudoscience bullshit pushing harmful treatments (steroids are no joke); or the adult “autism”
community interfering with the development and deployment of effective therapies; or the online self-diagnoses “autism community” blathering on about masking.

FWIW my DS supposedly on the spectrum is exactly like his dad, cousin and uncle. It’s not inflammation or a virus.

The fact that there is a genetic component does not at all rule out the fact that environment could play a role. Environmental conditions can affect how our genes are expressed. It is called epigenetics. You can be predisposed to something genetically and then certain factors will either tip you over or not. Absolutely a possibility here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the increase mostly in mild forms? Because that's where most diagnostic progress has been made. If we see an increase in severe forms, then that's cause to worry about environmental causes.

Even if it is, shouldn’t we still question why so many kids are diagnosed and whether any of it can be prevented?

+1

Autoimmune disorders are on the rise, allergies are on the rise, asthma is on the rise.

I wonder if we are going to get to 1 in 5 kids with autism and people will still say it's all better detection, broadening definition and mild forms. When will it be enough for people to care about environmental triggers?

None of these are comparable and all have medical evidence and often genetic.

I think they are comparable. There are doctors who believe these are all related to autoimmune disorders. Kids with ADHD and autism are much more likely to get PANS/PANDAS. There’s a high correlation between Celiac and ADHD, etc.

It seems related to me. Kids with ASD have GI issues, disproportionately. There’s the interesting fever effect, in which some kids become more “typical” behaviorally, when they have a fever. There is also a pallor that I see in kids with ADHD and ASD—nobody has been able to explain to me what it is, but it’s noticeable.

Oh ffs. Yes, the pallor. That’s because they are actually vampires.

Look, there was a big story recently about a woman who noticed that patients with Parkinson's had a distinctive odor (her husband had Parkinsons and she smelled it in waiting rooms with other patients. She had to push and push, and finally someone studied it and it is true and potentially useful to early diagnosis:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/23/820274501/her-incredible-sense-of-smell-is-helping-scientists-find-new-ways-to-diagnose-di

I have spent a lot of time around kids with ASD and notice that they often "look" less healthy looking than their siblings who don't have ASD. I have seen it on a lot of kids, including my own. Yet IME, once ASD is diagnosed, nobody is interested in any physical issues. Low vitamin levels, constipation, eczema -- it's all treated individually as having nothing to do with the ASD. Yet there are clearly things going on in the kid's body that are atypical. I hope someday we'll know.

I can’t even express how stupid that is. Yeah sure let’s dx kids with autism because they are pale because of some crap research that claims you can smell Parkinsons.

I just can’t even. I cannot.

DP here. I have no idea about pale kids and ASD but the Parkinsons thing is no joke. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-supersmeller-can-detect-the-scent-of-parkinsons-leading-to-an-experimental-test-for-the-illness/

It’s not a joke that someone is wasting research money on this, and that the media is reporting on it uncritically. Sadly, not a joke.

Why is this a waste? This is revolutionizing testing for Parkinson's.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.2c00300

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is downright depressing - just goes to show how unaware we are about this and how much we are caught on labels. It is hard though and I empathize because we want to know the causes and some sort of treatment - both of which are still up in the air. The whole mom blame thing is also a bunch of nonsense. I wasn't at an old maternal age, I was healthy, no underlying issues, nor obesity, blah blah, was extremely careful with what I ate, no history of ASD, but one of my kids turned out ASD Level 1 - we're still stunned sometimes because it came as a shock and yes we plan to reassess but we've just learned to let go of the label, the articles, the nonsense in the media - yes including Elon Musk and just focus on whatever needs our kid needs right now - and if you open your eyes there are plenty of NT kids which are getting plenty of supports in school and a lot of NT kids who aren't assessed at all or will be later on --- it's just a very isolating journey frankly...except in forums like this where it's every man for himself.

Totally get that. And there should be zero guilt. Moms’ choices and weight, age, etc. are not the problem. It is industrial pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals everywhere, poorly farmed food, etc etc etc - by the time mom gets pregnant it is not like her choices make the difference. The damage is done by the world around us. We need research and regulation.

Yes - so we're all sort of doomed in a way. Ugh this type of gloom leads to conspiracies by the way. As soon as family asks "Are you sure he's XYZ, this country loves to DX kids" not to mention environmental factors...when is the science ever going to catch up. There was an interesting thread sometime ago on genetic testing and ASD. FYI - not all ASD kids have stomach issues or autoimmune...nor are all ASD born premature...my kid was born right at term, 9lbs, and has no stomach nor other health issues as of now - thankfully...so I don't know where these correlations are coming from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The tone of this whole thread is really disappointing, coming from someone who was recently diagnosed as a 38 year old successful adult. Having a diagnosis and knowing why the world has always seemed so different for me means the world. But my “quirks” are precisely why I was very good at school and now have a very good job. There’s some argument that parts of autism were evolutionary advantageous. No, I don’t want a cure. I am happy diagnosis rates are going up so that kids don’t have to wait until nearly 40 to understand themselves. Acceptance and changing norms is absolutely what’s needed. Let kids unmask.

You have a very, very mild case of ASD. So this is all from your perspective. If you were a mother watching your child struggle their whole life, you would feel differently. So yes, some people wish for a cure and to prevent it. Your experience is one experience- you don’t get to tell others how they should feel e.g. “I have a great job and I am quirky! Let’s celebrate autism!” Nope.

There are lots of illnesses that kids watch their parents struggle with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is downright depressing - just goes to show how unaware we are about this and how much we are caught on labels. It is hard though and I empathize because we want to know the causes and some sort of treatment - both of which are still up in the air. The whole mom blame thing is also a bunch of nonsense. I wasn't at an old maternal age, I was healthy, no underlying issues, nor obesity, blah blah, was extremely careful with what I ate, no history of ASD, but one of my kids turned out ASD Level 1 - we're still stunned sometimes because it came as a shock and yes we plan to reassess but we've just learned to let go of the label, the articles, the nonsense in the media - yes including Elon Musk and just focus on whatever needs our kid needs right now - and if you open your eyes there are plenty of NT kids which are getting plenty of supports in school and a lot of NT kids who aren't assessed at all or will be later on --- it's just a very isolating journey frankly...except in forums like this where it's every man for himself.

Totally get that. And there should be zero guilt. Moms’ choices and weight, age, etc. are not the problem. It is industrial pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals everywhere, poorly farmed food, etc etc etc - by the time mom gets pregnant it is not like her choices make the difference. The damage is done by the world around us. We need research and regulation.

Yes - so we're all sort of doomed in a way. Ugh this type of gloom leads to conspiracies by the way. As soon as family asks "Are you sure he's XYZ, this country loves to DX kids" not to mention environmental factors...when is the science ever going to catch up. There was an interesting thread sometime ago on genetic testing and ASD. FYI - not all ASD kids have stomach issues or autoimmune...nor are all ASD born premature...my kid was born right at term, 9lbs, and has no stomach nor other health issues as of now - thankfully...so I don't know where these correlations are coming from?

Yeah I agree with you honestly. There’s nothing we all can do. We’re just like people who lived before other medical breakthroughs and had to make do. It sucked to have an infection before penicillin! Ha. And I agree at a certain point it shows conspiracy theories. But I also can’t abide just putting our heads in the sand and rigidly saying nope, it’s impossible that any of this is connected and we shouldn’t even check. The fact is it’s unknown and that’s true for both sides. You can’t claim to know one way or the other. (Not directed at you specifically)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Autism is a medical condition causing brain inflammation. I wonder how many years it will take for this to be accepted ? How many kids will suffer, how many families will suffer?

There are so many groups trying to normalize autism, saying it's not a bad thing. That will hinder the search for a cause and a cure or prevention.

+100

I also think they'll eventually find that a least a large subset of ASD is inflammatory. PANDAS-caused ASD behavior is clearly inflammatory (and to an outsider, the behavior in that transient period looks identical to ASD). And small scale studies of kids diagnosed with ASD show statistically significant improvement in symptoms on steroid treatment (regression once the steroids inevitably have to be stopped).

I’m not sure what’s worse: this kind of pseudoscience bullshit pushing harmful treatments (steroids are no joke); or the adult “autism”
community interfering with the development and deployment of effective therapies; or the online self-diagnoses “autism community” blathering on about masking.

FWIW my DS supposedly on the spectrum is exactly like his dad, cousin and uncle. It’s not inflammation or a virus.

The fact that there is a genetic component does not at all rule out the fact that environment could play a role. Environmental conditions can affect how our genes are expressed. It is called epigenetics. You can be predisposed to something genetically and then certain factors will either tip you over or not. Absolutely a possibility here.

Sorry but that’s just the truth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the increase mostly in mild forms? Because that's where most diagnostic progress has been made. If we see an increase in severe forms, then that's cause to worry about environmental causes.

Even if it is, shouldn’t we still question why so many kids are diagnosed and whether any of it can be prevented?

+1

Autoimmune disorders are on the rise, allergies are on the rise, asthma is on the rise.

I wonder if we are going to get to 1 in 5 kids with autism and people will still say it's all better detection, broadening definition and mild forms. When will it be enough for people to care about environmental triggers?

None of these are comparable and all have medical evidence and often genetic.

I think they are comparable. There are doctors who believe these are all related to autoimmune disorders. Kids with ADHD and autism are much more likely to get PANS/PANDAS. There’s a high correlation between Celiac and ADHD, etc.

It seems related to me. Kids with ASD have GI issues, disproportionately. There’s the interesting fever effect, in which some kids become more “typical” behaviorally, when they have a fever. There is also a pallor that I see in kids with ADHD and ASD—nobody has been able to explain to me what it is, but it’s noticeable.

Oh ffs. Yes, the pallor. That’s because they are actually vampires.

Look, there was a big story recently about a woman who noticed that patients with Parkinson's had a distinctive odor (her husband had Parkinsons and she smelled it in waiting rooms with other patients. She had to push and push, and finally someone studied it and it is true and potentially useful to early diagnosis:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/23/820274501/her-incredible-sense-of-smell-is-helping-scientists-find-new-ways-to-diagnose-di

I have spent a lot of time around kids with ASD and notice that they often "look" less healthy looking than their siblings who don't have ASD. I have seen it on a lot of kids, including my own. Yet IME, once ASD is diagnosed, nobody is interested in any physical issues. Low vitamin levels, constipation, eczema -- it's all treated individually as having nothing to do with the ASD. Yet there are clearly things going on in the kid's body that are atypical. I hope someday we'll know.

I can’t even express how stupid that is. Yeah sure let’s dx kids with autism because they are pale because of some crap research that claims you can smell Parkinsons.

I just can’t even. I cannot.

DP here. I have no idea about pale kids and ASD but the Parkinsons thing is no joke. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-supersmeller-can-detect-the-scent-of-parkinsons-leading-to-an-experimental-test-for-the-illness/

It’s not a joke that someone is wasting research money on this, and that the media is reporting on it uncritically. Sadly, not a joke.

Why is this a waste? This is revolutionizing testing for Parkinson's.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.2c00300

No, it’s not. If you think that paper is “revolutionizing testing for Parkinson’s” you need to do some basic scientific literacy education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is downright depressing - just goes to show how unaware we are about this and how much we are caught on labels. It is hard though and I empathize because we want to know the causes and some sort of treatment - both of which are still up in the air. The whole mom blame thing is also a bunch of nonsense. I wasn't at an old maternal age, I was healthy, no underlying issues, nor obesity, blah blah, was extremely careful with what I ate, no history of ASD, but one of my kids turned out ASD Level 1 - we're still stunned sometimes because it came as a shock and yes we plan to reassess but we've just learned to let go of the label, the articles, the nonsense in the media - yes including Elon Musk and just focus on whatever needs our kid needs right now - and if you open your eyes there are plenty of NT kids which are getting plenty of supports in school and a lot of NT kids who aren't assessed at all or will be later on --- it's just a very isolating journey frankly...except in forums like this where it's every man for himself.

Totally get that. And there should be zero guilt. Moms’ choices and weight, age, etc. are not the problem. It is industrial pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals everywhere, poorly farmed food, etc etc etc - by the time mom gets pregnant it is not like her choices make the difference. The damage is done by the world around us. We need research and regulation.

Yes - so we're all sort of doomed in a way. Ugh this type of gloom leads to conspiracies by the way. As soon as family asks "Are you sure he's XYZ, this country loves to DX kids" not to mention environmental factors...when is the science ever going to catch up. There was an interesting thread sometime ago on genetic testing and ASD. FYI - not all ASD kids have stomach issues or autoimmune...nor are all ASD born premature...my kid was born right at term, 9lbs, and has no stomach nor other health issues as of now - thankfully...so I don't know where these correlations are coming from?

Yeah I agree with you honestly. There’s nothing we all can do. We’re just like people who lived before other medical breakthroughs and had to make do. It sucked to have an infection before penicillin! Ha. And I agree at a certain point it shows conspiracy theories. But I also can’t abide just putting our heads in the sand and rigidly saying nope, it’s impossible that any of this is connected and we shouldn’t even check. The fact is it’s unknown and that’s true for both sides. You can’t claim to know one way or the other. (Not directed at you specifically)

DP. Sure, in theory the idea that “we can just check any random theory! do the MRI scans!” sounds fine to a layperson. In reality, what results is a mess of useless science, inaccurately touted and reported, and lack of attention to the kind of research and investment that would actually help our kids. Much of this research gets funded because it is trendy in some way - MRI scans, genetics, “biomarkers”, microbiome, inflammation …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Autism is a medical condition causing brain inflammation. I wonder how many years it will take for this to be accepted ? How many kids will suffer, how many families will suffer?

There are so many groups trying to normalize autism, saying it's not a bad thing. That will hinder the search for a cause and a cure or prevention.

+100

I also think they'll eventually find that a least a large subset of ASD is inflammatory. PANDAS-caused ASD behavior is clearly inflammatory (and to an outsider, the behavior in that transient period looks identical to ASD). And small scale studies of kids diagnosed with ASD show statistically significant improvement in symptoms on steroid treatment (regression once the steroids inevitably have to be stopped).

I’m not sure what’s worse: this kind of pseudoscience bullshit pushing harmful treatments (steroids are no joke); or the adult “autism”
community interfering with the development and deployment of effective therapies; or the online self-diagnoses “autism community” blathering on about masking.

FWIW my DS supposedly on the spectrum is exactly like his dad, cousin and uncle. It’s not inflammation or a virus.

The fact that there is a genetic component does not at all rule out the fact that environment could play a role. Environmental conditions can affect how our genes are expressed. It is called epigenetics. You can be predisposed to something genetically and then certain factors will either tip you over or not. Absolutely a possibility here.

Sorry but that’s just the truth

Please show me the “truth” about “epigenetics” causing autism, and moreover, that supposed truth doing *anything at all* to help our kids.

[Anonymous]

Just gonna leave this here for the credulous among us:

https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/brain-imaging-do-over-offers-clues-to-fields-replication-crisis/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Autism is a medical condition causing brain inflammation. I wonder how many years it will take for this to be accepted ? How many kids will suffer, how many families will suffer?

There are so many groups trying to normalize autism, saying it's not a bad thing. That will hinder the search for a cause and a cure or prevention.

+100

I also think they'll eventually find that a least a large subset of ASD is inflammatory. PANDAS-caused ASD behavior is clearly inflammatory (and to an outsider, the behavior in that transient period looks identical to ASD). And small scale studies of kids diagnosed with ASD show statistically significant improvement in symptoms on steroid treatment (regression once the steroids inevitably have to be stopped).

I’m not sure what’s worse: this kind of pseudoscience bullshit pushing harmful treatments (steroids are no joke); or the adult “autism”
community interfering with the development and deployment of effective therapies; or the online self-diagnoses “autism community” blathering on about masking.

FWIW my DS supposedly on the spectrum is exactly like his dad, cousin and uncle. It’s not inflammation or a virus.

The fact that there is a genetic component does not at all rule out the fact that environment could play a role. Environmental conditions can affect how our genes are expressed. It is called epigenetics. You can be predisposed to something genetically and then certain factors will either tip you over or not. Absolutely a possibility here.

Sorry but that’s just the truth

Please show me the “truth” about “epigenetics” causing autism, and moreover, that supposed truth doing *anything at all* to help our kids.

Epigenetics is not a “cause”, it’s an explanation for the occurrence of many diseases and conditions, which could include autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Autism is a medical condition causing brain inflammation. I wonder how many years it will take for this to be accepted ? How many kids will suffer, how many families will suffer?

There are so many groups trying to normalize autism, saying it's not a bad thing. That will hinder the search for a cause and a cure or prevention.

+100

I also think they'll eventually find that a least a large subset of ASD is inflammatory. PANDAS-caused ASD behavior is clearly inflammatory (and to an outsider, the behavior in that transient period looks identical to ASD). And small scale studies of kids diagnosed with ASD show statistically significant improvement in symptoms on steroid treatment (regression once the steroids inevitably have to be stopped).

I’m not sure what’s worse: this kind of pseudoscience bullshit pushing harmful treatments (steroids are no joke); or the adult “autism”
community interfering with the development and deployment of effective therapies; or the online self-diagnoses “autism community” blathering on about masking.

FWIW my DS supposedly on the spectrum is exactly like his dad, cousin and uncle. It’s not inflammation or a virus.

The fact that there is a genetic component does not at all rule out the fact that environment could play a role. Environmental conditions can affect how our genes are expressed. It is called epigenetics. You can be predisposed to something genetically and then certain factors will either tip you over or not. Absolutely a possibility here.

Sorry but that’s just the truth

Please show me the “truth” about “epigenetics” causing autism, and moreover, that supposed truth doing *anything at all* to help our kids.

Epigenetics is not a “cause”, it’s an explanation for the occurrence of many diseases and conditions, which could include autism.

That explanation and $10,000 will get my kid a year’s worth of therapy and payments to the educational consultant.

[Anonymous]

The historical perspective seems to be lacking here. There was a time not very long ago (1990s, when I was in school), when an autism diagnosis was extremely rare. It was only given to the very most impacted children, as in “Rain Man.” I volunteered at a residential school for autistic teens.

At that time, people may be surprised to hear, a much more common diagnosis was “mental r-tardation.” Huge numbers of kids were put into that category. Here is a document: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00040023.htm

The kids haven’t changed. They are being labeled differently.