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?

Why are so many children autistic these days?
I know the answer to this. It's because we autistic people find each other really hot so we shag a lot and make loads of babies. And you can't stop us.

I went to secondary school 1982-1987, and looking back, it was clear there were around 3/4 children who were either autistic, ADHD etc. They were sadly just classed as naughty.

This autistic voices only thing that's going on is incredibly damaging. What about those who are non verbal etc. You get to speak for them also do you? You don't want neurotypical people talking about autism but you totally exclude a huge part on your own community.

I'm autistic and my theory is that the world has become more and more overstimulating. Too many people, cars, dogs, living too closely together, too much construction work and air traffic and loud speakers in cars etc. It's all made life unbearable for autistic people when maybe we just about coped before.

Also by my forties I honestly just got tired of masking. I started saying no to being uncomfortable and pleasing myself a little more. My autism diagnosis gave me the confidence to do that.

More awareness and the closure of special schools mean more autistic children in mainstream schools.

I don’t know any autistic adult that says they don’t wish they knew why they felt so different as a child, please seek support for your daughter, life is much more than academics.

How do you know people commenting are not autistic, just because they've never been diagnosed? Most adults with mild autism WON'T have been diagnosed. It still doesn't mean they're not autistic. So how can you possibly know what they are?

We’re taking over the world look out NTs!

People just post about it because they still can and because it's an invisible disability so their small minds can't process what they can't see or comprehend.
There's not many discriminatory subjects you'd get away with arrogantly bashing on a public forum these days but despite disability also being a protected characteristic it's still currently acceptable to some for people to demean and disrespect vulnerable others they don't understand.

That will never happen. We can barely run mainstream classrooms at it is with the funding we have, never mind creating "gold standard" SEND units with a proper crossover with mainstream. I agree with you, in my view it would be the best way forward. But instead what will happen is the government will carry on with the rigid curriculum, the rigid Ofsted inspection system, the refusal of councils to issue EHCPs to anyone but those with the severest form of autism because they don't get the proper funding from the government (and even then they drag their heels), the continuing underfunding of special schools, with their derisory salaries offered to the teaching assistants doing the most difficult jobs.

Honestly, I couldn't tell you if any of the kids in my primary school were neurodiverse.

The girls mostly played with the girls and the boys mostly played with the boys. I didn't observe the boys' behaviour enough to form a view, and girls are supposed to be better at masking their behaviour during school hours.

My guess would be primarily more awareness/diagnoses and the impact of people having children later in life. There are societal reasons why many women don't want to have children until their 40s+, but biologically speaking, we're supposed to have them at closer to 18.

This is what I reckon.

DS has been diagnosed as autistic. I think now I probably would be. However, if he had been born in 1972 I don’t think he would, even if diagnosis had been as common then, because I coped fine with school and I think he would have coped fine with the education I had.

My primary school was very quiet, very chalk-and-talk in a cold, high ceilinged Victorian school building designed so the children would sit at their desks and not be distracted. Lessons were structured and there was always a right answer. I struggled at playtime but in lessons I could shine and was constantly praised. In contrast ds’s school was hot, noisy, varied, with a constant buzz of activity. You are never allowed to say yes that’s done, 10/10, there’s always something more to improve.

I was interested to read a book by an autistic former teacher whose own primary experience encompassed both sorts - he started off struggling in the modern one and luckily moved to an old fashioned one where everything improved.

I think what has been done to education, with the best of intentions, has been an absolute disaster for a large number of autistic kids who can’t cope so their behaviour deteriorates and they get assessed. Add to this the fact that life in general tends to be busier, noisier, lights brighter, with less downtime, more change, plus more emphasis on soft skills like communication which autistic people tend to struggle with, and people who might have coped ok in the past and found their niche find modern life harder to deal with.

I agree about the genetic link and that it's always been there but we didn't understand it back in the olden days.

My son has recently been diagnosed with autism and when I was reading through the long list of questions for the parents to answer, I realised that both his dad and I are probably autistic too.

What has shocked me more though is the sudden realisation that my own father was probably autistic. He was born in 1923 and was an engineer in the RAF during WW2. My parents had 5 children and I was the youngest. He had become a functioning alcoholic and I had assumed it was related to wartime experiences (which he never discussed). However, thinking back, there were lots of other clues in his behaviours that I never realised at the time but point very strongly towards him being Autistic.

Mum was definitely NT as are most of my siblings, but I'm fairly certain that one of my older siblings is autistic too.

@theholysock Exactly but we are hoping one of these days we can talk about it and not get criticised like the gay community because that is now accepted as the norm where it certainly was not and actually illegal in a lot of places let alone taboo to talk about for decades. Hopefully 'we' as an autistic community are next on the list of people that are deemed acknnowledged by society and these threads can move on to something else.

Oh I forgot to mention re schools- the modern ones being more open plan and less solidly built so there is more distraction from noise of other classes, and autistic people typically have more trouble tuning out distraction.

Genetics and the invention of the internet. Children in your generation with severe autism you didn’t see as they were kept at home or institutionalised.

People who didn’t function well lived with parents all their lives/didn’t find partners or have children. Now everyone can find their tribe and flourish. So those same level of autistic people can find jobs and hobbies with similar like minded people and they have relationships and children and autistic children like themselves.

I luckily found my partner before he had experience of NT people so didn’t know I was different 😂

I know all about autism, thanks.

Yes and yours shall be 'latetothepicnic' rather than @ForAPicnic because eh, thats already been debunked. A million times before your fairly well thought out comment.

From what you’ve written, you know nothing.

I'd much prefer my son could talk normally like everyone else to be honest.

You know , the question wasn't an accusation of something bad. There wasn't really a need for the "and you can't stop us", was there?

I'd much prefer my son could talk normally like everyone else to be honest.