Why is Asperger's so much more common these days?

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That is curious.

It was one in a hundred and then it was "one in sixty". And that one in sixty figure was after the autism spectrum had been expanded beyond Kanner to include aspergers and HFA.

But this new leap from 1/60 to 1/40 might well be due to that one thing: girls. They suddenly realized that girls have it to.

They used to rarely (not never but rarely) find it in girls. But (do a thought experiment) if hypothetically they were to find a new way to find aspergers in the female half of the population, and if they found that it was equally prevalent in females as in males, then that would instantly double the rate of aspergers (from 1/60 to 1/30). Even beyond the actual one in forty. So that probably explains it right there.

You NTs!

You now ONLY out number us forty to one!

Your position is hopeless! Surrender now!

That's the spirit

I think because less hands on classes are being done in schools. There is more reliance on computers and television to teach. The kids don't get as much social interaction that they need. And, TV can be too much of a distraction.

It's not more common. It is diagnosed more as more is known about it.

Are you saying you think computers and television cause Asperger's, or that they even make it worse? I can remember my first day of kindergarten, and being totally confused and annoyed by all the other kids running around and socializing. None of it made sense to me like it did to them. And that was before I used a computer or they become common in every home. Granted, I had TV, but still. For myself, at least, exposure to NTs and their socializing has helped me understand them better, but it hasn't made me enjoy socializing more. I may know what more of the facial expressions and vocal inflections mean, but I still have to tell myself what they mean. My interpretation isn't instinctual.

As far as more common, I agree with Biscuitman. More is known about it. Also, the definition is becoming more nuanced. The whole language of ASD is from a neurotypical perspective. The whole concept and understanding of ASD will change as more autistic people speak up for themselves, rather than let specialists speak for them. In the past you had a more rigid definition because it's easier to identify and codify extreme cases. Also, for specialists to be more successful they will need stricter definitions for a diagnosis. It's likely that, over time, autistic people will be seen more as people and less as a diagnosis/disability. But, that will change the more NTs stop interpreting autistic traits through an NT lens. I think they're more likely to say, "John is very shy and not assertive," rather than, "John is constantly dealing with sensory information, which makes it hard for him to communicate and keep up in an NT conversation."

More people are self diagnosed Autistic/Aspergers on Wikipedia. Introvert = Autistic!

The numbers have gone up simply because they have broadened the definition of Autism. Most of us on here, including myself would not have been diagnosed as Autistic by the 1960's definition of Autism.

I was tested for autism back in the 60's because of communication issues and they told my mother that I was lazy. Fast forward the clock 45 years, and I was diagnosed as autistic.

Is mild Aspergers going to soon be the next neurotypical?

This is true. More diagnoses means more money for psychologists.

Should it only be diagnosed when the problems are equal to or outweigh the advantages ? . There seems to be a mix of people who function very well despite meeting the criteria and those who function less well.

Maybe it's overdiagnosed.

There's more awareness of what autism and aspergers is.

Back in the 70s, autism was mostly seen as a low-functioning condition so only people with severe autism were getting diagnosed.

Because high-functioning autism and aspergers is now something we're aware of, more people are becoming diagnosed because the criteria for autism has become wider.

More women are becoming diagnosed as well, although autism is still a predominantly male condition. For every 10 men with it, there's only 1 woman with it.


There may be some over-diagnosis going on as well. Just because you're an introverted geek who's really smart and doesn't like talking to people, doesn't mean you have aspergers.

Yes but I'm talking about the 90s, when Asperger's was heard about and autism wasn't just for "low-functioning" children. Plus I was a girl yet I still got diagnosed in 1998.

AceofPens and I had this discussion a while ago, and from what the two of us agreed upon, the diagnostic criteria are too broad and not concrete enough to be as useful as they might be. That's a large part of the reason why I believe that aspergers (OK it doesn't actually exist anymore -- whatever!) is becoming more common.

I don't know what caThar4G meant but I think these factors can make NT's have strong enough Autistic traits to receive a misdiagnosis.