To think autism gets worse with each generation

[eastereggg]

Genuine question.

Why does it seem that autism gets worse with each generation?

Example: a mother is a late diagnosed autistic but her child is very clearly autistic and displays much more severe characteristics than she did. The grandmother would probably be diagnosed autistic today as well.

There seems to be a recurring pattern that I'm seeing where autism is getting more severe with each generation. Is there an explanation for this?

I wonder if a lot of it is how behaviour is modelled. I am autistic and 36, when I was a child I would have what I now realise we're not tantrums but meltdowns over seemingly trivial things. I was disciplined harshly and by the time I was a teenager most of this behaviour has stopped. The approach to autistic children in the past has always been discipline outbursts or unusual behaviour and reward masking, this is true at home, at school and in social settings.

Autistic parents are more likely to understand their kids so rather than it being acase of the children of these parents"getting worse" they are perhaps, for better or worse, allowing more 'autistic' behaviours, and not encouraging their child to mask. Schools are also more open and accepting of individual identity, special interests and peers are generally also more accepting of kids who seem eccentric or even a bit odd. This means that social norms are changing too.

It's like saying people are getting gayer. They aren't, there's just less need for gay people to stay closeted for all or most of their lives and those that are out can exhibit behaviour that is considered butch/camp and have less worry of repercussion than 50+ years ago.

Yes. I think there's a lot of truth in this. I work in a school and the curriculum is so packed in and quick (I hate it). There's no room to breathe and just absorb anything. Or to learn anything in great depth! (Which didnt suit my son at all).

I think back to my schooling and can think of several classmates who were probably ND but could just be their quirky selves.

That might also be my favourite phrase now, thanks!

Hmmmm I don't think my son is more obviously autistic than I was. I can't believe nobody spoke to me parents about me when I was a kid - I was textbook girl autistic, from a young age. My son is autistic too and I clocked it from a very young age, but only because I was so aware of what to look for. Also, I married a ND man from a very ND family, so my son has all the ND genes. Neither of us knew we were ND when we met, but we clicked.

It’s not due to chemicals, in food or otherwise. Autistic people have existed for much longer than things like preservatives etc, but for various reasons weren’t as easily diagnosed - and were often missed altogether.
It’s genetic - but more importantly, it isn’t one single gene. There are combinations of genes that combine to cause autistic presentation, and those gene combos are unique for everyone. That’s why autism is a spectrum.

Great points.

Yes!

And autistic people are valid and their brain type is hugely useful in society and always will have been. My husband is brilliant at his job because of the way his brain works. And is a wonderful husband

I don't think it is getting worse, there's always been a spectrum and the higher functioning autistics were not as often diagnosed or where diagnosed with Asperges. The low functioning autistics were shut away from society in institutions. I've worked with lots of older adults with severe autism and most of them grew up in institutions.

In our family, it appears only in females and doesn't seem to vary from generation to generation (so far).

Those who have benefited from university education definitely cope better with everyday life.

Autism is due to chemicals in food WTF?

Further along the spectrum??? You are aware the spectrum is not linear, no?

For gods sake the amount of misinformation out there still shocks me. So disheartening.

I also think that the modern world can be much less forgiving of autism (and ADHD) in some ways, so it’s more noticeable when people struggle.

For example, thinking of my grandparents and parents. They didn’t have to manage a complex diary, emails, 38 different apps to control your heating or car radio, 28473 page job applications, presentations, meetings. They weren’t expected to pass exams, if they did it was a bonus.

The bar for being considered “functioning” is a lot higher.

Autism can be pretty dynamic and the extent it effects us can change throughout our lives. I'm a reasonablely functional autistic adult, so if you saw me today and compared me with my autistic DC you would probably conclude that the pattern you describe fits. However you did not see the absolute wreck I was as an undiagnosed younger child before I learned to mask, or the mental health issues years of masking caused through my teen years.

My own DC are not pressured to "act normal" in the same way I was, so probably do have more noticeable quirks, but are also likely to grow into functioning adults, which might appear 'less autistic' then the children you'd see today.

I have t read all comments and will get hate for this. But watching people in either friend or family form I feel they’ve escalated the situation.

one particular woman I know told me she gets the DLA higher rate, carers allowance, carers element on UC and a mobility car full UC etc . She told me she has zero work commitments and has expressed how finically lucrative it is. Now this is absolutely not the case for everyone, but I do believe in SOME cases it’s financially beneficial and that some parents do harbour their own children for financial gain. Some also love being apart of something and to share their child’s journey etc, again on watching these videos etc it again screams more about the parent/parents need for attention and a lot of the time stifling their children.

The number of ND people who have children with other ND people I think. Just lately figured out my DH is likely ND, mostly after noticing his DC from his first marriage show a lot of traits. I had assumed it was their DM who is VERY high functioning masking ND.

.... which I suppose also raises a query about me!! 😄

I have been thinking that, although I wonder if it requires both parents to be ND. My DH and I definitely both display some autistic traits but probably not enough to warrant a diagnosis. Both our DC are diagnosed with autism and there are some quite obvious signs but they are both verbal and academically capable. I do worry about any future DC they may have, especially if they find ND partners in the future. I suspect ND people are more likely to end up in a relationship together than ND/NT couples.

Multitude of reasons I suspect and better diagnosis is definitely one but I think it's also (perhaps controversially) parenting techniques - I was encouraged and given support to ensure my dd fitted in with society whereas 20 years later it appears that children with autism are being allowed to do what they want (from toddlers). As all are different and I have a sample of 1 I'm certainly no authority but I see how my neighbours dd is to her mum and my dd was brought up quite differently (my dd was diagnosed at 2, not a late diagnosis)

Eva use autism exists in the context of society. A calm, well regulated autistic child in a low stimulus environment doesn't appear particularly different to anyone else. But the world gets louder, busier, faster and more stressful for autistic people every year.

I loved my primary school and did very well. I'd fall apart in a modern one. My kids are home educated because they cannot endure the high stimulus environment that state schools have to provide now - all interactive with the possibility of making a fool of yourself, constant transitions all day, testing and pressure from reception onwards, such a strong emphasis on being extroverted. Uniforms that are a sensory nightmare so kids are focussed on their skin all day instead of being able to relegate touch to the background and get on with life.

It's environment.

Load of rubbish, although modern living is far more sensory overloading than days gone by and I do think that has a lot to do with limiting people's coping strategies and more diagnosis due to more frequent overload and struggling.

Plenty of people with higher support needs were put into institutions in times gone by not allowed to procreate or simply wouldn't have survived due to other comorbid conditions, there fore the older generations are more likely to be those with lower support needs

Autism traits are rife throughout my family although often diagnosed as various MH conditions, people who were put into institutions years ago, some who lived in supported housing, some who lived with spouses but supported by spouses and limited wage earning, other adults who stayed living at home and never married. Others who were school refusers and work minimum wage repetitive jobs away from people when their academic potential would suggest they would be high flyers. I hope that DD has got her diagnosis early enough that she can develop the coping strategies and awareness to flourish and reach her potential.

This!! The world has changed massively- constant stimulus, constant change, lack of consistency.

75 years ago people had fewer opportunities, but also a consistent routine and expectation. People worked routine hours- 9-5, or factory shifts with bells. There were outdoor jobs, solitary jobs, jobs that you stayed in for your entire working life. You may well live in the same town your whole life. Some people might long for more and be adventurous. Those who didn’t, could live very much as their parents did. In the same factory/office, often. Having fish on Fridays, sausage on Tuesdays etc.

Add in keeping autistic children highly visible in mainstream education, rather than keeping them corralled away in a special school or literally locked in at home…

I wouldn’t like to say it’s not becoming more severe down the generations, but there are plenty of alternative theories.

Can’t say I’ve spotted this, but the obvious answer is the people who are really affected by their autism (I.e, are not verbal, or have violent outbursts or severe educational difficulties) are also less likely to have children than someone with mild characteristics. So it looks like it’s a generational thing, but isn’t.

My daughters diagnosed autistic I'm not but suspect that I am. I wouldn't say that it's more serve with generations I would say my mother didn't know about autism so I didn't have the help or support but as a adult I have serve anxiety, ocd and depression. Even from the age of 9 I thought about unaliving myself. If I had been diagnosed as a child and had help and support who knows I could have been a lot different now. But I think I just get on with it because it's all I've known to do 😂

And me! I was quite sure it was DH’s family ( and it definitely is) but then my brother’s DC are ND, and my sister’s DC (so it could be us). But BiL’s niece is ND as well, which suggests it’s his side…

I suspect it’s both sides and that we’ve paired up through acceptance of ND traits that might have put more NT potential partners off!

I can only speak for myself but I think its because in this generation nobody is trying to slap the autism out of their children. By my sons age I was absolutely terrified to put a foot wrong and was forced to mask in order to not be punished. Plenty others I know who are discovering they are nd say the same . I've never laid a hand on my son and he's not afraid to be himself quirks and all.

Has anyone mentioned age and adaptation? Although a person carries autism throughout life and never gets 'cured', many do adapt. I've seen this in my family. By 60+ they have some combination of masking techniques, workarounds and simply self knowledge about what they like/works for them. All the adults I know are undiagnosed. In my family and sister's, the kids were worse at school but now in later teens have come to adapt more to NT life. As they are average/above average IQ they will likely learn to adapt to the world a little better. I suspect by the time they are in later life they would present as less ND-y

And this has precisely….what relevance to autism prevalence?

FWIW my DS8 is autistic and in special education. I have spent over £30k on diagnosis, OT, SALT, play therapy, ADHD assessment and meds, specialist toys and equipment. He can’t use regular childcare or do simple things like queue or stand still. I get middle rate DLA, which iirc is the princely sum of about £240 a month. I would have to receive it for 3 lifetimes to actually fund the out-of-pocket costs of having a disabled autistic child.

If you actually had to care for a dysregulated child with autism on a regular basis, I suspect you’d be singing a rather different tune.