I agree about definition creep. It has made it appear to be grow rapidly.
My family has a history of what I think in Asperger’s Syndrone, which is lumped with Autism in the “Spectrum”.
It is hereditary, is most common in males (90%), and is debilitating. Doctors do not understand it, and treatment is very ineffective.
I am convinced it is an autoimmune disorder at root cause.
Texas Fossil
You may be right. I haven’t studied Asperger’s.
My sons have “symptoms” like developing academic skills at different ages (reading at 4, writing at 8), talking to invisible space aliens, getting angry when they don’t get what they want, and so on. None of them would be considered “autistic” by a reasonable adult - they look people in the eye, make physical contact voluntarily, and engage in sensible conversation at times.
However, if the school system found them to be a nuisance, they could be “diagnosed” for the system’s convenience. “Hey, look at all these autistic children - I wonder what’s causing this all of a sudden!”
You have mail
Our oldest son, my husband, his father, and likely his father before him are (were) Asperberger’s. One of our daughters who is a teachers says this: that neither autistics nor aspberger’s do well with relationships. The difference is that the apsberger WANTS to but does not natrually know how, but the autistic just doesn’t care. I am not convinced they should be lumped with autism, and from what I understand, neither do many “experts”. I do not think it is an autoimmune, it is just they way they are “wired”. If you look through history, knowing the characterists of asperbergers, you can see many example of highly successful people who likely were Aspbergers. They have a drive and a focus that is really unpararelled.
Take heart though, the Asperberger learns to live with it and adjust. My guys seem to do it with a series of complicated “rules” that they have devised on how to get along. Different than the rest of us, yes, but it works for them. I am not sure they really realize they are different, which has been good because it has forced them to adjust. After all, their fathers were the same, so as any young boy and young man, their father is their role model. Just remember that they just function within a set of rules. Once you know those rules, or can explain life to them in “rules”, then they adjust very well.
I did not know my husband when he was young, but watching our oldest, yes, it was debilitating when he was in school. It was not fun, not for him, not for me to watch. And from what I understand, the same with my husband. But, he has grown through it, and putting his trust in the Lord has made all the difference.
Funny, people who know them and can get past their pecularities admire their character as outstanding. And a more loyal person you cannot find in someone without Aspergers. Conversely, once you are disloyal to them, which they cannot comprehend, then you are toast!
Take heart concerning those in your family that are Asperbergers. Although they are often “quirky”, they have many personality traits that we can’t easily attain.