[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I am 68 and this Autism seems new as none of the children
I knew as a child had it.

[AnAmericanMother]

Autism as a separate diagnosis is relatively new.

The kids now categorized as "severely autistic" used to be diagnosed as "severely retarded" and were institutionalized.

That's why you didn't see the kids.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

They didn’t have a name for it or diagnose it except in very extreme cases.

I went to school with someone who was later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, but nobody ever knew anything about it then. He was just a geeky kid who didn’t get along with everyone else and did math and was crazy for puzzles. I actually always admired these qualities and never had any idea they were symptoms of a syndrome.

Of course, he’s rich and famous now because he invented Bit Torrent, so these diseases do have a positive side, especially in their milder forms.

[YellowRoseofTx]

There are over 100 conditions that are now included under the umbrella of "Autism Spectrum". Some conditions are misdiagnosed as Autism, such as "Late Talkers" and genius.

My 4 year old grandson was diagnosed with a mild form of Autism, but is now beginning to say a few specific words. He uses sign language mostly. He has very specific interests.

I have doubted his Autism diagnoses from the beginning, but I'm not an authority by any means, so we'll see.

[The Duke]

I am 68 and this Autism seems new as none of the children I knew as a child had it.

Oh, back then the disease was known as "brat-isness". :)

[onewhowatches]

I am 68 and this Autism seems new as none of the children I knew as a child had it.

It used to be most of the kids who had it were diagnosed as mentally disabled and shunted off to institutions.

I'm about 20 years younger than you. When I went to grade school, the school I went to was also the training school for the teachers' school at the local college. Which included a classroom of what were then called "retarded" students. In retrospect, some of them were definitely what would be called autistic today.

One of my first babysitting jobs also was for an autistic boy (about six). That would have been really difficult, except his younger sister (about three) was very bright and could tell me what his normal behavior was and what I should do.

[Old Professer]

But it took Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks to make it mainstream celebrity material.

[muawiyah]

Two things ~ when you were a kid they didn't use he word. As you well know there were kids who had it anyway, eh. Otherwise who would you have had a chance to kick around on the playground? (Bwahahahaha!!)

And, just to be much more serious for a moment, it's a rather comprehensive term that ropes in a broad range of symptoms. Not all the kids with "autism" are off in a corner vegetating, and not all of them are screaming their heads off all the time.