I think a good bit of the reasons why autism is much more common now are more kids with milder forms are being diagnosed, people are talking about it more so it's more in the public eye, and women are getting pregnant much later in life.
It reminds me a lot of ADHD in the 90's; I'm sure a lot of those kids would be called autistic now instead. I think I'd be called autistic too because of my sensory issues (light, sound, smells, touch), but because of my age it's put under fibromyalgia.
My neighbor's son with autism has a pretty severe case and it was obvious since birth that something wasn't right (to my family, we used to babysit him a lot, his family didn't want to see it). He was diagnosed when he was 2. He's 7, doesn't talk at all, isn't fully potty trained, gets into everything, and he's very picky with food and stuff. In a lot of ways he's a toddler.
I think it's genetic is this case, his cousin has a severe case too, they might not be able to keep him at home much longer, he's about 10? |