Why are so many children autistic these days?

[Superlambaanana]

I've just seen someone comment on a thread that 4 out of 5 of their DC are autistic. So many classroom assistants in every primary class. So many parents I talk to saying they have or are fighting to get a diagnosis for their DC. And yet no one I went to school with at primary or secondary level was ever diagnosed as autistic, nor did anyone do anything that suggested they were undiagnosed like hand flapping or inability to communicate normally. Various levels of intelligence and social ability obviously, but no one who was at the level of meltdowns and needing stringent routine etc. Is it environmental?

Explain the autistic kids born way before all of this then? I am aware we are still only talking about recent diagnosis but you are autistic from birth so environment from the 50's and upwards and possibly before should be factored in. Autism is not a new aged thing just something newly researched.

Not every autistic person stims (‘flaps’) or has meltdown or needs a stringent routine

Agreed but some of us are autistic and born before all of that came to light.

And goats...

Is there some kind of rule against that?

I could just as easily say 'Another thread where MNers prove that they can't discuss anything without descending into personal insults and provocative, bile filled comments'.

@Notamum12345577 don't go there.
That stupid nonsense has helped lives be lost.
I have reported your stupid comment so people don't have to read it.

I was at school in the 80s and it was far more formal, overcrowded and overstimulating classrooms were not a thing.

^

This too.

Society knows such much more about learning and educational theory these days and yet academies are treating pupils like blue collar factory workers of yesteryear. Some kids thrive, some cope, and those who aren't wired the same way it will be more obvious because they won't cope as well.

If schools were properly funded, if they could recruit enough teachers, and keep the experienced ones they've got, things might be better. When you are dealing with a room full of 30 teenagers, many of whom have SEN, problems at home or just general behaviour issues, being a bit regimented and rigid about things is sometimes necessary to keep students safe and actually teach them something.

Surely the DLA does come in handy?

Op you sound very bitter is this a benefits bashing thread starting with autistic people?

@ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat out of curiosity - are the goats for milk?
We live in a flat - so can't really have one 🐐

Well now I am not in the UK and we cannot get DLA where I am but if I move I can get a goat? Is that for me the autistic one? Like an emotional support goat or do my kids get it as a payment of sorts? For me I will move. For them then no they get enough.

Yes it does seem that a very high proportion of the discussion and comments on MN mention or are related to autism and neurodiversity. It may be that because it's discussed here, people come to talk about it of course.

The term autism was first introduced by Eugen Bleuler in his description of schizophrenia in 1911.[1] The diagnosis of schizophrenia was broader than its modern equivalent; autistic children were often diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia.[4] The earliest research that focused on children who would today be considered autistic was conducted by Grunya Sukhareva starting in the 1920s.[5] In the 1930s and 1940s, Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner described two related syndromes, later termed infantile autism and Asperger syndrome. Kanner thought that the condition he had described might be distinct from schizophrenia,[4][1] and in the following decades, research into what would become known as autism accelerated.[1] Formally, however, autistic children continued to be diagnosed under various terms related to schizophrenia in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases(ICD),[4] but by the early 1970s, it had become more widely recognized that autism and schizophrenia were in fact distinct mental disorders,[4] and in 1980, this was formalized for the first time with new diagnostic categories in the DSM-III.[6] Asperger syndrome was introduced to the DSM as a formal diagnosis in 1994, but in 2013, Asperger syndrome and infantile autism were reunified into a single diagnostic category, autism spectrum disorder (ASD).[6]

Here's some reading for you @Superlambaanana

We’ve always been there, but we’re were the awkward wall flowers, the unkissed virgins, the kids who might have shone in certain classes but withered almost physically and wanted to die in PE/group-based activities.

This was me. But it was called just being shy. Lack of confidence. And sometimes low esteem due to upbringing. Yes, I did feel an outsider and different, but it’s something you can move on from as you grow with the right friends and partner. Which is what I did.

I was comparing to when I was at school (50 years ago) when there was none.

Can I take yours too then? I will send you the odd block of feta in exchange.

I was at school 30 years ago and I look back and think of my class mates who were obviously ND and forced to confirm or had complete breakdowns or sent to special schools with no proper support. We had kids throwing chairs, having meltdowns, sent out of every lesson.

Yes I often think this. I think in our lifetime we will see a huge overhaul of classifications because if eventually 50% of the population is neurodiverse, then they are not really 'diverse'. It is becoming clear that the world needs to change and adapt to the fact that a 'neurotypical' brain might not really be typical at all.

I'm older, and was taken into 'care.' I was also physically disabled and had a DIV education code. Then labelled as Spastic, and ESN.
So went down the 'unsuitable for fostering or adoption' route straight to the 'unmerciful sisters.' It was a good 50% full of kids who would nowadays be automatically considered autistic, just from the stimming, lack of eye contact, inability to deal with change, and meltdowns regardless of threats of violence, or into cold baths for hours if they did.
Then they were considered odd, brain damaged, aggressive, or suffering from 'infantile dementia' and trained (or not!) for menial work.

Later my DIV code and ESN diagnosis changed, and I became part of the 'everybody's dyslexic now' wave of diagnoses.

I'm officially NT, but fell for a a man who I now know is ND and so clearly are a lot of his family going back many generations. One got a formal diagnosis after being admitted to Broadmoor. Lots of uncollected awards for bravery. Uncollected because they were only doing their job, and officially un social bunnies.
ASD definitely runs in some families.

It all came out when Gt Ormond street took a look at our 'strange' spiky profile DC and said Aspergers, then asked to meet Dad, and Grandma had an absolute hissy fit about keeping 'family secrets.'

ND children were always there, just not diagnosed properly. There's an increase in recognition and diagnosis, an understanding that early intervention can lead to better adaptability, less autistic children are hidden away, and potentially more ND people procreating. There may be other factors as well.

Thanks for this - my PhD is on mother/autistic child depictions in contemporary fiction. This is the most perfect summary and something I might nick to use as the basis of my explanation of contemporary (mis)understandings of the nature of ASD. 😍 🙏

I posted earlier, if you look up normal in the dictionary it pretty much says faking so eh, we are the normal ones.

I think maybe a clumsy attempt at this may be a reason why there is such a large increase in parents putting their child through the assessments? You have to agree that some (not all) parents will see this as a means of getting access to benefits? You would be very naive to think otherwise.

I'm sorry, I'm not normally rude, but "grow out of their diagnosis once older" is just Bollocks!

^

Obviously case dependant. It's a trend we are seeing

@Livelovebehappy do doctors and psychiatrists get a payout for lying do you think? Like are they putting their jobs on the line to LIE for people who FORCE autism diagnosis on their kids so they can get some payout?