You know, if there was a medical test, something that was not swayed by an observer's subjective opinion, I would be fine with the fact that there are x incidences of autism per x population.
But, the fact that these types of diagnoses are so subjective and often include behavior that is later grown out of or is just not a problem in other settings, that I think the vast majority of the claims are totally bogus. Not to mention, of course, that a lot of people are making a lot of money off of these claims and diagnoses, quite often at taxpayer expense.
It's the same with learning disabilities. Over the years (decades, back to the early 1900s) it's been estimated that about 1% of the population has true dyslexia, where no teaching method is entirely successful at teaching reading because of brain/physical issues. Since the 1990s we're told that at least 15% of the population is dyslexic and needs counseling and special ed services forever - can it be that the vast increase in funding for special ed since the IDEA legislation has "caused" more cases ?
Hmmm, let's cogitate about that for a while.
My daughter is definitely dyslexic (from brain damage).
The schools will only pull them out for reading help if they are 2 years behind. Even if the schools pull them up, then they have to slip back 2 more years before they help them.