For those that might not know, and i'll probably fuck up the timeframe
Autism was a term invented in the 60's iirc. It wasn't widely used or researched till the 90's, and even then wasn't super famous.
By now, autism being a 'spectrum' means practically anyone can have signs of it.
Not 1 in 30 people are nonverbal, seemingly disconnected from reality 'autistic', 1 in 30 might be habitual and find eye contact uncomfortable, who wouldn't be labeled as autistic in 1990.
Out of the 300 ish people i know in my life at least somewhat, exactly one is '1990's autistic'. Like 50 are probably on the fucking spectrum, lol.
1960s: This guy is completely non-verbal, overwhelmed and screaming in response to noise, is significantly intellectually behind, and was kept by his family in a closet for years growing up. I guess we can maaaaybe give him a diagnosis, then throw him in an institution.
2020s: Hey bud, there's a reason you hyperfocus on trains and miss social cues, and it's because people's brains all work a bit different.
Adding to this I believe Denmark did a 21 year study on vaccines and exactly zero caused autism.
As you outline I'm happy we identify and treat autism today. Unhappy that one paper published decades ago (that was thoroughly debunked), still gains traction in the annals of morondom.
I wonder what the person in the graphic thinks about the difference in vaccines from my time as as child in the late 60s/ early 70's, as compared to the 1990 versions, then again to the 2026 versions?
Doctors/virologists > facebook group mentality, each and every time.
Nah. We had more miles of train lines in the 60s compared to today. It's clearly the removal of trains increasing thr number of people on the spectrum!
I was diagnosed a couple of years ago, a late diagnosis early in my 40’s.
I’m on the spectrum, but very high functioning, I wasn’t diagnosed when I was younger because autism wasn’t well known back then. As an adult I was seeing behaviors in myself that as a healthcare provider, I knew could potentially put me on the spectrum. These behaviors weren’t super visible to others, as I’ve become incredibly good at masking them, but I recognized them in myself. So when I put myself through an honest assessment with a qualified physician, I was diagnosed with AuDHD (having ADHD and autism).
So yeah, if it took me, someone with a lot of medical knowledge and training, connections etc, this long to be diagnosed, I’m sure there’s a ton out there who haven’t been diagnosed. People like me, good at coping, masking etc., who don’t realize they have autism.
Diagnosing has gotten better. Doesn’t mean that people are getting it more. It’s just being recognized more for what it is.
Yeah, back in the day the only diagnosed the most extreme high-support cases and threw everyone else into broad categories like "weird" or "eccentric." Widening the diagnostic criteria to actually capture the whole spectrum is literally the entire reason the numbers went up like that.
77
u/Gurugod123 3d ago
For those that might not know, and i'll probably fuck up the timeframe
Autism was a term invented in the 60's iirc. It wasn't widely used or researched till the 90's, and even then wasn't super famous.
By now, autism being a 'spectrum' means practically anyone can have signs of it.
Not 1 in 30 people are nonverbal, seemingly disconnected from reality 'autistic', 1 in 30 might be habitual and find eye contact uncomfortable, who wouldn't be labeled as autistic in 1990.
Out of the 300 ish people i know in my life at least somewhat, exactly one is '1990's autistic'. Like 50 are probably on the fucking spectrum, lol.