To just remind you that autism is genetic?

There's more autism because DSM 5 changed the definition of autism to include those that were once dismissed as 'odd, weird, eccentric, introverts, highly sensitive, loners, awkward' etc etc. I include myself amongst those.

In fairness, those people were previously being dxed as having Aspergers.

What DSM-V did was remove the diagnosis of Aspergers from play.

Aspergers was always a subtype of autism, though.

Autism and ADHD is absolutely rampant in my family. We thought it was mostly the boys but as research has gone on we have come to raise that girls mask so much more and their behaviours often come out as/or are seen as rebellion and poor behaviour. My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD at 15 after 3 years of school refusal after being a great student. Her medication has been life changing. Literally got her through her GCSES and she's a different girl.

There's more autism because DSM 5 changed the definition of autism to include those that were once dismissed as 'odd, weird, eccentric, introverts, highly sensitive, loners, awkward' etc etc. I include myself amongst those.

Alongside the updated definition we're a better informed, more child-focused culture than we were a generation ago. Like many, I recognised traits in my children and only later acknowledged that I to was autistic and have had to come to terms with the effect this has had on my life and effectively begin again in middle age. This is the reason there is 'more' autism. Think back to your own childhood - the bullied kids - autism in plain sight, the poor kid just didn't have any way to understand why no-one wanted to be friends. We can't change other people's behaviour but we can at least help our children understand themselves and others.

It's always asked, but OFC a proportion of any group of parents will report difficult births.

I'm pretty sure any link there will end up debunked.

We are still so early in the research of HF autism.

My dd is autistic. No one else in my family (or DH's) has been diagnosed (or has any noticeable traits). I had her when I was 24, DH was 28. Sometimes it's just not because of anything.

I read a fascinating article about this a few years ago. I can't remember where but it was pointed out to me by an educational psychologist. It talked about the impact over generations of ND people being attracted to each other (because we tend to be attracted to those whose experiences we relate to) and therefore the genetic component potentially become stronger over time.

Yes she does. Research tells us that 60 to 90% of the risk for autism comes from your genome
Now who’s being a ‘twins’?

In respect of parental age, she didn't use the word risk. I have no idea how anybody is reading mother-blaming into what she said.

Most of my family are on the autism spectrum.

Having had a child suffer side effects from a prescribed drug and seen first hand how the pharmaceutical companies close ranks and deny I’ve lost my faith in them and no longer trust them to be honest. I was going to be part of an exposè in a National newspaper, I talked to a journalist and a doctor about this, but they were later warned to not discuss it and the article was dropped.

Thousands of people a week join the support group for this drug so it’s still ongoing. The company conceded to add the side effects to the drug info several years ago, but refuse to support any research, so any medical findings are down to patient groups who have done the work.

My autistic son went from being fine and supportable to being very high needs, unable to go to school and needing an awful lot of support.

I suspect more children’s/people’s autism is more disabling to them and their families because of certain pharmaceutical and dietary factors but the might of these huge corporations keeps it well under wraps and parents who talk about this are dismissed as conspiracy theorists or stupid.

I think a lot will come out about certain pharmaceutical products in the next 10-20 years. There are already films about certain coverups (Dopesick, Painkiller, Dark Waters). There will be more to come.

An increase in children born very prematurely and an increase in Autism diagnosis isn’t necessarily linked.
Whilst both are true, further correlations are also true - there is a rise in global temperatures, fewer people are smokers, birth rates are falling in the UK, there are fewer particulates caused by burning coal in the UK. Would you also say these have led to a rise in Autism?
Part of the increase is down to adults seeking a formal diagnosis, rather than young children being diagnosed. Plus an increase in self diagnosis. That skews any self reported data.

There are still loads of people who subscribe to this nonsense. Andrew Wakefield have been living it up since he moved to the states.

The age thing I thought was more linked to father's age rather than mother?

Birth trauma is also raised as a factor. I was asked about this with my own DC.

I also think it’s unclear what you’re saying about age. I’ve seen it come up a few times with mixed views.

Yes, I come from a family of neurodivergents, both diagnosed and happily unaware. In amongst the hypermobility, epilepsy, chronic migraines of all varieties and autoimmune disorders. We have pretty wonky genes.

@robotgun

behindthemall
Your post says there is more autism, then that there isn’t. Then ages of parents increase prevalence, but it’s wrong to attribute an increase to “mothers reproducing too late in life”. So I’m not really sure what your point is....

Did you not note the inverted commas?
I still don't know what your point is. You've said parent age is a significant factor but then you lump mothers producing later in life with a bunch of things you obviously consider irrelevant to autism.
So which is it?
It is a factor or not?

Also if 60-90% is genetic then up to 40% is something else.

What is it then if not genetic?

ASD breeding with ASD. We make awesome kids

Yes she does. Research tells us that 60 to 90% of the risk for autism comes from your genome
Now who’s being a ‘twins’?

There are syndromes caused by certain medication during pregnancy (sodium valporate being one) where one of the symptoms is Autism.

The increase is far greater than simply diagnosis. Apart from anything else, DH’s extended family aren’t actually diagnosed despite being pretty clearly autistic.

We aren’t giving a new label to existing behaviours. We are seeing massive increases in primary children struggling to cope at school.

Either the world has changed so much that people who used to cope no longer can- which is perfectly possible - or there are far more children with autism than there used to be, perhaps because of different ways of socialising.

To just remind you that autism is genetic?

YABU. Autism can be genetic but it’s not believed to be the only cause.

It’s highly genetic in my family though.

I know what you mean (though the age thing is a confusing part for me in your op).

I had a parent who was a community nurse in learning disabilities. They used to say in the 90s that autism was hereditary and parents weren’t making the connection between having an autistic child and their own evident undiagnosed ASD. Then again, same parent despaired of my own undiagnosed neurodivergence and couldn’t see the exact same traits in themselves for love nor money, so self blindness to the issue is a tale as old as time…

I thought one of the reasons for the increase was children surviving more after being born prematurely.

I was a teacher for 25 years. We were told this quite often.

I’m also confused by this.

And on the subjects of prescribed meds, obviously the MMR stuff is nonsense but I thought studies have shown a link with sodium valproate?

There's 'more' autism because people are having babies at older ages. And we are better at spotting autism

Also premature births and preeclampsia are both strongly associated with Autism, both of which would have been likely to result in infant deaths decades ago, so there literally are more children with ASD these days.

I don’t really see posts on here with people saying anything about MMR or heavy metals now though, most people know that’s not true by now, just seems to be the odd nutter on Facebook.

She didn't use the word "risk" at all. (Maybe because she isn't trying to be an offensive twunt.)

But of course maternal and parental age can have a small effect, and noting that isn't "blaming" any parent for the decisions they make (or don't get to make) against a complex economic, social & personal background.