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?

X post!

The screening questionaires may be more visible but the awareness amongst teachers to refer children, especially girls, to actually take the questionaires has improved enormously. When I was a child, Lorna Wing's research was in its infancy and the prevailing view was that autism only affected boys. I was diagnosed as an adult. A child presenting with my behaviours now would be diagnosed whilst still a child.

Strangely he really is well behaved when he is told "how, why and when" things are happening also when he is given choices and boundries are in place

Autistic people respond well to structure, to having the "why" of rules etc explained, and to bounded choices.

This child can be autistic and at the same time be suffering through bad parenting.

Autism has been very aware for nearly twenty years as well as the more ‘masked ‘ form in girls.

The trope that educationalists and paediatricians haven’t been aware is old now.

Among educationalists is a growing need for more up to date screening as it has become evident that some children are , unnecessarily, being labelled and unduly ‘processed’ when the the ubiquitous strategies are being rolled out.

If I’m honest, I think the term ‘ autism’ needs a complete overhaul.
It cannot be possible that a maths lecturer , with autism, can possibly be in the same category ( for want of a better word) as someone in a residential unit who is completely non verbal, with toileting issues , screaming at any change at all and a tendency to extreme violence.

The whole concept of autism needs to be reconfigured.

Do Amish communities perhaps largely only marry within their own religious culture, keeping their collective gene pool relatively distinct from the surrounding population? (People regularly leave but then presumably are no longer counted in studies of “the Amish”).
So if they randomly only started with a low level of ND people in that pool they might not be seeing an increase in inherited ND conditions deriving from the social factors already discussed at length in this thread?
(I also wonder if there are different rates of pursuing diagnosis and also if some individuals who might be sufficiently out of step with non-Amish life to be diagnosed might find it easier to meet the specific demands there).

Absolutely 100% agree.

There are even online tests to ''Self diagnose''. Judging by this test almost all the people I know would be under the autism spectrum.

https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/for-adults/autism-and-aspergers/adult-autism-test

The Amish have their own schools and don't educate beyond the age of 14. Their teachers aren't formally qualified as teachers and so aren't trained to recognise the signs of autism in order to refer a child for assessment.

Yep. Apparently, according to online asssessments that many of my colleagues attempted, the majority of us were autistic.
same with Ihrlen’s …most of us needed a coloured overlay!

The whole SEN diagnostic process needs a complete overhaul. It’s been the same for decades. The same questionnaires, the same questions,the same processes for at least two or even three decades.

Most people find lower contrast text easier to read. It's just that people with Ihrlen lose a substantial level of reading ability without them.

Self-assessment tools are not a substitute for literally hours in diagnostic interviews with a minimum of two trained medical practitioners. The children and adults being diagnosed as autistic aren't diagnosed on the basis of an online questionnaire.

I did an online test just now.

And that online test result is not a diagnosis.

Come back when you've spent years on a waiting list and hours in diagnostic interviews.

I’ve done those tests and came out the opposite, unlikely to be autistic. What did you answer??

The questions in the linked test above.
It was a very easy ''select the appropriate answer'' test.

They are based on the SCDQs which every potential autistic child is faced with.
this questionnaire hasn’t changed in many years. Very many years, in fact.

I was diagnosed several years ago.

I was lucky enough to access an NHS assessment, afaik some areas don’t have any adult assessment clinics available, so the only way to get a diagnosis is to go private, which is costly and out of reach for too many.

When I was first diagnosed I felt very strongly that no one should call themselves autistic without an official diagnosis, but I’ve mellowed. I think if someone recognises themselves as autistic they’re very likely to be autistic, and if that allows them to find and use various strategies or supports (eg train or airport assistance, or even just day to day life hacks) to help them get through life easier then that’s good for them.

My diagnosis brought be no support beyond the option of a follow up appointment. What it did do was allow me to look at my life retrospectively and reframe things I did as a child and adult that I didn’t understand, and to be more forgiving around things I struggle with. I’m not sure there needs to be gatekeeping around that sort of self understanding, so these online quizzes, that tend to be pretty accurate, are worth doing if they lead someone to a place where they’re happier to be them.

What I mean is, what were your answers? Did you suspect you were autistic?

I remember years ago whilst at college, someone (I think it was a teacher) saying that white is one of the hardest colours to read from.

Maybe you are autistic then. You’d hate that wouldn’t you. I’ve seen your posts, including ones on deleted threads and your attitude towards autism is repulsive. Only a full assessment would tell you though as no one is diagnosed by a questionnaire alone. My child’s autism assessment took many hours over many days, with a whole team of people, involving her school etc. It was very hard going and thorough.

My partner and son completed the AQ test I think it’s called online and scored very low, as I thought they would.

My comment isn't about people who recognise many autistic traits in themselves and find that coping strategies for autism help them. I recognise that, in the absence of timely assessments, many autistic people must resort to de facto self-diagnosis as a workaround.

My comment is a response to a series of several posters who are devaluing the entire clinical diagnostic process based on taking a self-assessment found online that suggests that the poster in question may be autistic. Those posters can only judge the assessment process as flawed after fully going through that process, including spending multiple hours with an assessment team. They cannot judge the process on the basis of an online screening tool of undisclosed provenance.

Give them time ! But I’m glad you reminded me of those 😍

This absolutely, to understand your difference and to understand why something’s are hard for you and to know you need to experiment on how to work out the best way of doing things without someone just saying “just do it.” F@ck you Nik3 😉

You would not have seen me much at school either as I would stay at home a lot in my safe zone. I suffered terribly from selective mutism and sensory issues. Teachers thought I was being difficult and said I had to do what the other children did, there could be no exceptions. People thought I was shy and depressed. I have been diagnosed now in my 40th

I'm 47. At school I would be mute from overwhelm. I was terrified of authorities and could never quite understand what was expected of me. I couldn't ask questions and yet, strived for perfection on everything.

I was bullied horrendously for being weird. Not a typical "girl" as I didn't conform to gender stereotypes. I would surely have been transed as a child. I didn't get sarcasm and watched care bears to copy how to make friends because I didn't know how to socialise.

Poor social skills made me a people pleaser, master masker, poor boundaries and multiple sexual assaults due to completely missing deceptions and cues.

I feel through every crack. I was miserable, alone and never supported in school.

I finished without a single GCSE.

Diagnosed AuDHD last month.

With the lack of increase in autism diagnosis in the Amish community, I think there are certain cultures that have a naturally more autism friendly environment than others. It's not universal but I do wonder if the Amish lifestyle suits some autistic people so well that they don't struggle as much and then don't get assessed.

I completely agree with the PP who said that the word autism shouldn't be used to describe both people who are capable of having jobs and relationships and people who are in full time residential care. Personally I think you should be able to be diagnosed with autism on it's own or with any of the following co morbidities - learning disabilities, sensory processing disorder, mental health issues, emotional development delay, eating disorders, dyslexia, dyspraxia, adhd, nocturnal enurisis, pica and anything else I have missed out. I have 4 dc with autism and they are all very different, even though they all come under the Aspergers syndrome category.

There's also the little matter that the Amish don't exactly do mainstream schooling and tend generally to avoid mainstream everything. This would preclude the children coming into contact with the professionals who would detect and assess autism.

I completely agree with the PP who said that the word autism shouldn't be used to describe both people who are capable of having jobs and relationships and people who are in full time residential care. Personally I think you should be able to be diagnosed with autism on it's own or with any of the following co morbidities - learning disabilities, sensory processing disorder, mental health issues, emotional development delay, eating disorders, dyslexia, dyspraxia, adhd, nocturnal enurisis, pica and anything else I have missed out.

Your first sentence contradicts your second. Autism can and should be used to describe anyone autistic, whether they can work or not. Autism with learning disability will not present the same way as autism without learning disability. The people misdescribed as "not very autistic" are the ones without co-morbidities.

By analogy: some migraineurs will have more migraine days than migraine-free days and should be eligible for disability benefits because no one who spends more than half their life in agonising pain (possibly also with flashing lights stopping them from seeing properly) can be expected to work. Others will be able to count their annual migraines on one hand and will be capable of working and raising children. They are all still migraineurs with a diagnosis of migraine and will, if female and getting aura, not be allowed to use oestrogen-based contraceptives because of the stroke risk. How badly they are affected doesn't affect their diagnosis but it does determine their support needs. And you'd be cruising for a tounge-lashing if you described any of them as "not very migrainey" or "more migrainey" than another migraineur.