Will increasing numbers help our cause??

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You know, with the rate of ASDs continuing to go up since the start of the 2000s - not just due to broader and more accurate diagnostic criteria but pure incidence too (from predicate events like higher average age of parents at conception/birth) - could it be a foreseeable outcome that our increasing number may help our cause? For instance, could it give rise to more accepting and enlightened attitudes towards autistic spectrum disorders, or less denial of their existence out of some perverse sense of avoiding the subject of mental disorders?

I mean, it makes sense if it's more prevalent, that even groups of NTs that are more vain and extroverted, style over substance etc., will be exposed to more and more ASD people whereas before, they'd avoid such people either consciously or incidentally by preferred people associations.

But I don't know if it will leave us more empowered or less disenfranchised from the fabric of society, even if we reach double-digit proportions. After all, just look at the history of South Africa. NTs on the whole are more bellicose and political than we are, due to more ingrained evolutionary wiring. Think of it through a pseudo-Marxist lens, if you will, that the aforementioned "uber-NTs" are like the "social competent class", and we are the "analytical-objective class". We will likely continue to find ourselves exploited and not given a fair shake, or our fair due, while the upper class continues to promote members of their "in-group", nepotism, sycophants and toadies etc. So, I just don't know...

Another wrench in the prediction is whether - heaven forebid - there may be medical measures to curtail incidence of ASDs. Thus circumventing the paradox as to how autistic traits can perpetuate if so many people on the spectrum are regarded as "incels" (as much as I cringe to use that term, it's a label that others tend to stick on ASD people) and are not good candidates for mating - speaking mainly about males - I honestly don't know if our increasing numbers will increase acceptance to the point where it increases sexual success rates to a level that's even one standard deviation away from the "NT male mean". Because let's face it, on a visceral level most NT women would regard a man with unmitigated Aspergers as a poor choice of mate, due to lack of nonverbal fluency and practical coordination, so he wouldn't be a good provider or protector - she's thinking, I ain't letting you anywhere near my reproductive organs, condom or no condom

So, my theory/prediction would be that most ASD population growth would come from a continued higher average parent rate of around 35 years of age, or even close to 40. Unless there was more effective early behavioural intervention, but the problem is that with increasing numbers it becomes too costly and we all know which "class" is in charge to disburse those needed funds

It already has. We are much more represented in culture, an our take on things are quoted in news articles about autism these days.

This is not a straightforward process. There will be backlash and setbacks where things actually regress before going forward again. And it will vary a lot by location.

Increasing numbers of self-motivated and financially successful people with ASDs "coming out of the closet" would be more likely help our cause than sheer numbers alone.

I think increasing the numbers of ASD will help all sorts of areas of support to develop.

With governments for example, if there were only a few people with this condition, then the politicians do very little to help or use their access to financial resources to provide.

With more numbers, more money is invested, whether coming from governments or from charitable organizations.
With the extra funding, the more people work on all areas that will eventually help people with the condition.

I.E. housing, living benefits, education etc.

Greater number also means that there is a potential for people with ASD to get organized. As mentioned before,
getting people organized to contribute to surveys and petitions, is the "real world" way to get governments to take notice and to make changes.

In certain governments for example, if there is a significant number of people who agree with a particular opinion (say for example, people with ASD need specialist housing), then such a petition can be presented to the Government and the government then needs to evaluate the validity of the petition, and if warranted, help create the required provisions / services etc.

In terms of public knowledge, the more people there are with the condition, then the more likely the knowledge-base is going to get through, if those with the condition are educated to a high enough level.

Last year, the CDC estimated the prevalence of ASD in the adult population in the US as 1 in 45 (this is an estimate, not just counting those with diagnosed ASD). That works out to be 2.2% or around 5 million people.

Key Findings: CDC Releases First Estimates of the Number of Adults Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States

That is a pretty significant minority, even if a lot of those don't know they belong to the club.

I think the increase in successful people on the spectrum sharing their stories will help make things better for us. I hope to be one of the successful ones. It's never too late to start.