Have they really always been around (or in such numbers)?
It seems to me that both Alzheimers and Autism are problems that either did not exist 40 years on, or else were much rarer than today.
Maybe its something in the environment or food or?
I think they just came up with new names for senility and being a little slow
I had plenty of kids with “autism” in my school 50 yrs ago. They were termed retarded or crazy but they certainly were around.
However, this article seems to say that autism of some kind affects 12% of kids? That does sound awfully high!
Alzheimer’s has been around for years, they just called it “hardening of the arteries” or “senile dementia.”
My grandmother had it, early onset in fact, she was completely bed bound and unable to recognize any of us when she was 63...that was in 1964.
My grandfather (opposite side of the family) also had it, but his was later onset.
Years later when they started talking about Alzheimer’s and the symptoms of Alzheimer’s did we realize that this was what had afflicted them.
Maybe its something in the environment or food or?
Back about 10 - 20 years ago I saw something that claimed that the area around “silicon valley” had above average autism rates. They chalked it up to the areas population who were very tech/analytically minded.
I worked with an officer whose son was profoundly autistic. He was very “quirky.” He was a great guy and a talented officer but lacked something in social skills. He seemed to realize it and worked around it.
fifty years ago, the two thirds of autistic kids who were mentally retarded were put into institutions. We now have “deinstitutionalized” the long term facilities, and the parents now have to care for them at home, never mind their behavior.
The higher functioning kids in the past often ended up diagnosed with mental problems, and often ended up in psychiatric facilities.
The bad news is that when puberty hits, often the boys become aggressive, so aging parents may not be able to cope. There are “halfway houses” for them, however.
As for Alzheimer’s: That used to be called senility. In the “good old days” usually the oldest daughter sacrificed her life to care for her aging parents.
An no, these are not “new” diseases. Just given a fancy new name.
They’ve always been there but people kept them at home or they put them in special ed. I remember when I was around 18 and had never heard of Alzheimer’s, and I don’t even know if they were diagnosing it back then. On Christmas day a woman showed up at my brother’s house. It was obvious that she was confused and we couldn’t get any information out of her. We called the police and her family had already called them so they just came and picked her up and took her home.