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

Post Reply New Topic

Aspie’s are breeding. More people born with the gene.

If I had to guess, I'd say doctors are more readily going to make the diagnosis, whether it meets the threshold or not.

The "numbers rising" is almost solely because of more awareness of autism in general, more diagnosis amongst women, and less reluctance to seek a diagnosis.

I believe it's going to stabilize at somewhere between 1 in 35 and 1 in 40.

Bad parenting and neglect lead to this condition. More kids are being babysat by technology: smart phones, Tablets and TV and inattentive parents spending too much time on their smart phones. It is the technology addiction that leads to anti-social and behavioural issues to develop. Children do not learn social skills if they are in front of TV or smart phones, Tablets all day.

These numbers are taken from CDC data showing estimates of the number of children with ASD:
2018: 1 in 40 (CDC data is usually at least 2 years old; this is an estimate given by the Journal of Pediatrics, as reported by CNN)
2014: 1 in 68
2008: I in 88
2006: 1 in 110
2004: 1 in 125
2000: 1 in 150
1995: 1 in 1,000

Someone mentioned that I contradicted myself by saying that some of the influx in new diagnoses is due to more uniform diagnostic standards. This is simple to explain. It was not until 1993 that healthcare professionals even got themselves on the same page in defining the term Autism. It took another 2 decades for them to hash out the fine details, as exemplified by the term “Asperger’s” disappearing from the DSM in 2013. How can there be certainty in the numbers when there was not even an accepted standard for diagnosing Autism until just recently? I would list the year 2000 as an accepted starting point for having useable statistics to track the growth rate because of this phenomenon.

The prevalence of those diagnosed with Autism is rapidly accelerating. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this is going to stabilize at 1 in 35 to 1 in 40. If anything, the evidence suggests just the opposite. The data tells me that within 5 years it is going to be 1 in 20 children. Why do you think that this data is even being collected by the CDC? The government and healthcare world see this as an epidemic.

I, for one, do not see it an epidemic. I see a change coming to humanity. Think about how the “normal” people interact and behave: lying about their feelings, avoiding sensitive subjects that are annoyingly obvious, leaving important words unsaid, pretending to like things they do not, pretending that they are not feeling an emotion that they clearly are feeling, using language to hide, skirting crucial issues, attacking people who frighten them without ever realizing they are full of fear, and claiming to be rational when huge steamy clouds of emotion are pouring out of them. In my eyes, I see unevolved, inefficient, and almost maddening, neurotypical behavior. The way I see the world and interact with it quite often makes much more sense.

I do empathize for those that are higher up the Spectrum. In any evolutionary process you’ll find variants and degrees of change. It’s how nature finds the middle ground in adapting and thriving. I was just recently diagnosed and in reconstructing my past, I realized that I was considered almost non-verbal for my first 6 years in this body. I fully credit my mother for pulling me down into the high-functioning range. Had it not been for her, I would have been quite different today. My point is that in living through variant ranges of the Spectrum, I see that there is something special hidden in us “afflicted” with Autism. We are the forerunners to a better society.

Evolution just doesn't happen that fast; Natural is right.

It's impossible for the "rise" in autism to be an evolutionary manifestation.

Any scientist worth his/her salt would know that.

Maybe aspie is the new NT in the future? That'd be pretty cool.

Aspergers was known of when I was growing up too yet it went unnoticed in me. I was never sent to a special ed class yet all teachers I had struggled with knowing how to get through to me and how to make me socialize right with the other kids but I was not someone who belonged in a class for troubled kids and they could tell so I guess it wasn't easy for them to know what to do with me.

I also really think that aspies have always existed but back in the day diagnoses and mental illnesses were not accepted so people had to just fight and learn to mask it. Socially awkward people have always existed you know but they've been just socially awkward because there hasn't been a better term for it. In my experience being socially awkward is the biggest reason for bullying in schools and bullying isn't exactly something new. I'd even say it's very unusual if you were the ONLY socially awkward person in your school growing up, maybe you just never payed attention to the other ones? I was far from the only one at my school and every single one of us got bullied or teased. Sucks how that happens.

It would be nice----but that's not going to happen.

Neurotypical societal patterns are just too ingrained. Most people feel the neurotypical social aspects are worth maintaining, even amid toleration of more "alternative" ways of socializing.

This is because of the tendency towards adhering to the "tried and true."

Most people like to be told "Good Morning," like to be thanked, like to have people say "excuse me," and, in general, feel comfortable following social routines which seem, at first glance, to be rather superfluous. These give neurotypical people a sense of security.

Theory of mind refers to the notion that many autistic individuals do not understand that other people have their own plans, thoughts, and points of view. Furthermore, it appears that they have difficulty understanding other people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions.
Many of the tasks used to test this theory have been given to non-autistic children as well as children with mental retardation, and the theory of mind phenomenon appears to be unique to those with autism. In addition, theory of mind appears to be independent of intelligence even though people with Asperger's syndrome exhibit this problem to a lesser degree.
Interestingly, people with autism have difficulty comprehending when others don't know something. It is quite common, especially for those with savant abilities, to become upset when asking a question of a person to which the person does not know the answer.
By not understanding that other people think differently than themselves, many autistic individuals may have problems relating socially and communicating to other people. That is, they may not be able to anticipate what others will say or do in various situations. In addition, they may have difficulty understanding that their peers or classmates even have thoughts and emotions, and may thus appear to be self-centered, eccentric, or uncaring.
Although this is an egocentric view of the world, there is nothing in the theory of mind to imply that autistic individuals feel superior to others.
The vital question which must be asked is: How does one teach individuals with autism to understand and acknowledge the thoughts and feelings of others? One of the methods used to teach autistic children and adults this concept is an intervention developed by Carol Gray called 'social stories.' These short stories describe different scenarios which allow autistic individuals to understand themselves and others better. These stories may motivate them to start asking questions about other people and at least recognize that different individuals think in unique ways.