CDC: U.S. Autism Estimate Grows to 1 in 68 Children

[hazybabe]

I think its the same, which ever diagnosis is favourable, fashionable and most publicised at the time will be over used. The early naughties saw huge amounts of kids bundled into Adhd diagnosis, kids with dispraxia, poorly disaplined/neglected, food colour allergies and a host of other reasons are all lumped together, labeled and even medication for something they don't have.

 

[Crossbreed]

Aspergers has always been present. We can look back through history and see likely examples. It is LFA/Kanners that is on the rise and that appears to have an environmental component.* These cases frequently have family histories of Aspergers and/or intellectual giftedness, so they are likely the injured children of those two camps.

Dr. Lorna Wing made the same distinction between neurodiversity and LFA (in her daughter's case).

*A leading researcher in the field told me that that number is 1 in 200-250. Classically, it was 1 in 1000.

 

[GrownupGirl]

That doesn't mean that there are more autistic kids and ADULTS than there used to be, and it definitely doesn't that it's a horrible tragedy.
You know how there are animals species that have just only been recently discovered? They existed even though humans didn't know it yet.

 

[Crossbreed]

That doesn't mean that there are more autistic kids and ADULTS than there used to be,...

It means there are more ASD2s & 3s. Before that increase, ASD1s pretty much flew under the radar.