I've been thinking this for years that actually, there is no epidemic. As well as better diagnosis, there is the addition of high functioning autism and Aspergers which were previously not known about. The average population has risen much higher as well, so therefore it would make sense that there are more autistic people.
I also expect that people would not talk about their 'autistic' offspring as most of them were probably hidden in institutions under labels such as 'schizophrenia' or 'mental retardation' when actually they were autistic. There was a real stigma with mental illness, so it is unlikely that people would just randomly tell people 'I have two kids, one is normal and the other is schizophrenic'. Nowadays people are much more able to talk about autism because they are better aware of what it is.
The assessment that was provided with the document was fascinating but quite sad at the same time. I expect that Benjamin could have done quite well had he been born more recently.
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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
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