I thought the same thing. She says she had been mis-diagnosed as a child as having brain damage. Remember, they didn't have any other sort of slot in which to put kids with that syndrome, so her just receiving the diagnosis last year doesn't surprise me.
I think back in her day there was a stigma to be avoided, as if autism was a form of “mental illness” or “retardation”
Much less stigma now, and younger kids are getting diagnosed in order to get the services and interventions they need.