Do you think that Autism and Aspergers is becoming a trend?

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I think it may be becoming a trend that people are understanding what some of the symptoms are and are identifying with some of them. Whether they have enough symptoms to be autistic is another matter. Maybe if people are starting to somewhat identify with it this is not a bad thing. I don't think it's necessarily bad. We do want awareness and understanding to spread. It could make people look into the symptoms more and more people may discover that they actually are autistic.

It's true: it is a hip subject of research.

It's not hip within the purview of the General Public, though.

I think people have to be careful because it can go both ways. The problem is that as far as I have experienced, I need to make sure I put my disclaimer in so that no one misunderstands or attacks this post, as far as I KNOW FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE , everyone feels most of the things that we feel on the Spectrum. I don't know that all NT's can feel sensory looping but I recently found out from one of my doctors that sensory looping now has its own diagnosis so it is actually its own thing. But everyone has anxiety from time to time, most people even get depressed from time to time. Everyone has sounds and textures that annoy them, everyone has had a few socially awkward moments, everyone has done at least one social faux pas in his or her life, everyone has misunderstandings in communication and the list goes on. So everyone on the planet can look at the diagnostic criteria and think they can fill all the requirements to a degree. The difference is whether or not those symptoms and traits impair your ability to function in normal daily life. If you occasionally have a moment where you experience a Spectrum related trait every now and then every once in a blue moon for a few minutes or something, that does not mean you are on the Spectrum. If you deal with these symptoms and traits every day and they impair your ability to function and they become debilitating on a regular basis, then you need to consider finding out if you are on the Spectrum or not.

So yes, I think that it is a really good thing that people can identify with traits and perhaps find out if they are really on the Spectrum. But if you might experience a trait every now and then it becomes dangerous for people to say "I have Asperger's" or "My kid has Asperger's." Like my friend who is convinced that his kid is on the Spectrum because he is very intelligent. Or another person I talked to who thinks his kid is on it because she misunderstands some things. Neither of these kids are impaired at all in their lives because of those traits. And especially with the one who is intelligent, I know them very well so I would know if he was. I know that I would be able to at least notice and he is old enough now that it would have been noticeable. And these kids don't exhibit anything else at all other than what I mentioned as far as Autistic traits go. And so the problem is that when I talk to the parents they don't really believe that I have the struggles that I have because they are convinced that their kid is "a little Autistic" also. So they don't understand why if their kid can function superbly, why then can't I. And so they expect me to be able to do things because their kid whom they are convinced has "a touch of autism" simply because he is intelligent can do them. And no matter what you tell them they cannot be convinced otherwise. So I think that there can be a danger to that.

I personally don't care what they think in that regard towards me because what they think does not happen to affect my life in any way. But if they might feel that way towards another child who happens to really have Asperger's, and they make it obvious to that child that they think that way, it can really hurt the Aspie kid. And I think that it can really do harm to their own kid if he grows up thinking he is on the Spectrum just because he is smart.

That makes sense, Skibum.

Thanks.

i think yes. but only some slight few.
the numbers and statistics are certainly climbing, but also is the awareness. it only makes sense for the numbers to rise due to the more people who become aware, and fully aware. so this "epidemic" doesnt really reflect the truth on statistics accurately yet. we have always had aspergers, it just didnt start when we got diagnosed. and the dx of aspergers wasnt even known of in my childhood. autism was one. and it seemed like a bunch of those with aspergers had the psychologist baffled by if it was adhd, add, or autism. as they were aware something was "off", but they couldnt pinpoint exactly, due to conflicting symptoms (ex. unable to sit still. but able to focus intensly on certain things. cant sit still, but when advised whats expected and intended, they can sit still for hours, or whenever the clock reaches the top(12). (in my experience).
however, i do think its becoming "cool". much like how it was "cool" to act stupid in school for a while.

Technically yes it is a trend.
That matters in two ways.
The first way depends entirely on how you feel about applying labels to areas that are not very clearly cut, like the label of "trendy" for example.

The second and more significant way is that society will find a way to train-wreck every popular trend, so that it is exploited, misrepresented, and eventually discarded as a butchered heap, much like what we saw with breakdancing in the 80's.

For now at least society will do something similar to this:
(imagine scene from the movie MeanGirls)
"Oh my God you have Aspergers? That is so fetch!"

It is possible. So far though I have not notice it in my world. I rarely even hear the word autism and when I do it is someone's child that there talking about. I have never heard someone say they have Asperger's because they like computers or not good at communication. I've been diagnosed as High Functioning in 1994. I only started talking about it to a few people and may have to inform my employer. It seems as I get older it is harder for me to maintain focus. I really hope I do not end up on disability again.

I think people connect Asperger's with being come sort of ultimate nerd or geek so as those become trendy naturally Asperger's does too. The TV shows featuring lovable Asperger's characters helps the trends grow and I think people find our social issues to be really funny. If you think about the trend isn't based on Asperger's at all, its based on being a geek, shy, really intelligent and a little socially awkward, these people really are ignorant about what Asperger's is. In short I think its trendy to a degree.

It has certainly become trendy online. In real life however, I am not aware of anyone who would want to exacerbate any minor autistic-like traits they had, or fake autism for attention; the attention seekers and munchausen sufferers have far easier disorders to fake if attention is all they're after. Autism is not an effective means of garnering sympathy either, not like depression or anxiety. A lot of NTs have the stereotypical view of autistics as cold and emotionless, and so anyone pretending to have it, or otherwise claiming it publicly would stand a better chance of being avoided and disliked rather than fawned over as the "adorable, emotionally delayed genius". I do wish it weren't becoming such a trend, even online, because it makes those of us who really have it look like posers when we tell other people, especially those of us who are more high functioning, whose symptoms may not be immediately obvious outside of certain settings. It also demeans what it really means to be autistic. As Skibum said, NTs have no real concept of what living with daily sensory problems, perpetual anxiety, and a constant feeling of "differentness" is like. They get a taste from time to time, but it's nothing compared to what we deal with, and to trivialize it by making the disorder "cool" or "trendy" is unfair.

Unfortunately, I think it is in a way. I mean, it's good that awareness of it is becoming more widespread, but at the same time, there are a lot of people out there who are falsely diagnosing themselves for attention, and they are drawing attention away from people who genuinely struggle with it.

I also think it's unfortunate that so many people have jumped on the anti-vaccine bandwagon because they fear that somehow the preservatives used in the vaccines will give their kids autism. The last time I checked, autism is most likely caused by genetic factors, and it's such a major neurological difference that a person can't simply "catch" it the way they'd catch a cold. Speaking of viruses, there have been recent outbreaks of measles and whooping cough, two diseases long considered rare and under control, most likely thanks to the anti-vaccine movement. http://time.com/27308/4-diseases-making ... i-vaxxers/

You can tell if an idea is "trendy" if you see Hollywood integrate the idea into a movie in order to make more money.

That's one of my simple tests.

I'm not suggesting autistics, or "we" are trendy, but just the idea (the meme) and what society is doing with that idea right now.

Generally I find trendy stuff to be offensively stupid or insulting/degrading.

I think misapprehension of the criteria is why you get people like that.

Equating social anxiety or shyness with autism. As well it being seen as a reason or explanation for other problems like those I mentioned. I don't understand this reasoning, but I've seen it across the net.

Also a lot of people mistake their own behaviours for being autistic, stimming in particular.