I never heard of autism growing up. Why is it so prevalent now?
“I never heard of autism growing up. Why is it so prevalent now?”
Recent research indicates an association between older fathers and the incidence of autism. Parents, in general, are older than ever, especially in higher income brackets.
This study clearly shows autism is not likely due to exogenous ex utero influences, such as vaccinations. Most likely, many if not most of the conditions under the autism rubric are related to genetic errors, singly or in combination, that effect brain development.
In my many years of psychologically testing children, I only tested two I put an Autistic label on. A true autistic child will NOT look you in the eye. I would beat on the table to try to get the child to look at me. They also refer to themselves as “he” or “she”, never as “I” if they do manage to say anything.
The reason there are so many with that label now is, they have opened up the behavioral characteristics to include so many behaviors that most any kid could get that label now and that is a farce.
They where either believed to be a little strange, relatively shy or mentally retarded. I believe that many people have ad it for years as it was always normal for men to have children in their forties and for women to give birth well into their late thirties and even forties.
It can also not be excused out of hand that the massive amounts of female hormones, IE: Chemical Birth Control pills, infecting our drinking water.
“I never heard of autism growing up. Why is it so prevalent now?”
It’s really not. There are two reasons why it seems to be, though:
First, the doctors have changed the definition of autism. It used to only include the classic depiction of autism (extreme social withdrawal, uncommunicative, repetitive movements, etc). Now, they call it “Autism Spectrum Disorder”, because they believe that Autism is the more severe form of a range of related disorders, including milder varieties like Asperger’s. So people who would not be said to have autism 30 years ago, can be said to be “on the spectrum” today, even though nothing about their disorder has changed.
Secondly, there is evidence that false diagnoses (and simply false claims of autism with no diagnosis) have grown significantly. Many people who are just a bit antisocial, or “geeky”, but have no clinical issues, will “self-diagnosis” themselves with some form of ASD, for sympathy, or to be part of the “community”, or other reasons like that. Other times, parents who believe their children must have some disorder will doctor shop until they find one willing to make the diagnosis even if it is not warranted. One study found that having an autistic child in the neighborhood increased the likelihood that other children in the area would be diagnosed. It’s not a contagious disease, so that means there is a social element going on, causing increased diagnoses that probably shouldn’t be happening.
Those with more severe symptoms would have been deemed mentally retarded and not integrated into the public schools. Those more functional would have been deemed odd but not have received a diagnosis.
I have a cousin that would been diagnosed if we were 30 years younger, I may meet diagnostic criteria for a variant of the condition myself.
“I never heard of autism growing up. Why is it so prevalent now?”
Because a frightful number of American moms today are filled with narcissistic histrionic disorder and are wacked out on meds themselves. Having a “special needs child” lets them wear the holy veil of victimhood, freeing them from blame for raising bad kids.
It is exactly the same feeling for them that a sane person would get for having an honor student.
The more feminist the country, the more you see western style “autism”. It’s a cultural delusion, no different from global warming. “Proof” is everywhere, there is no objective test. Refusing to buy into the delusion subjects the doubter to shrieking personal attacks.