This is a beautifully written piece, but I think the math is convoluted. There are now 1 in 36 boys diagnosed with autism - that is only because the category now includes quirky, verbal, sometimes highly verbal people who fit into the neurodiversity category. Those 1 in 38 are NOT nonverbal boys who will never be independent.
This is a beautifully written piece, but I think the math is convoluted. There are now 1 in 36 boys diagnosed with autism - that is only because the category now includes quirky, verbal, sometimes highly verbal people who fit into the neurodiversity category. Those 1 in 38 are NOT nonverbal boys who will never be independent.
Later in the article it states that disabling autism has been measured in California to have gone from 3,262 in 1989 to more than 160,000 in 2022. Again, this is due to a change in definition. More verbal people are in the 2022 category than the 1989, and more nonverbal people previously diagnosed as "mentally retarded" and other no longer used diagnoses and labels are now in the 2022 autism category. As it states elsewhere there has been a RECENT movement in California to identify all disabled adults who need are. People forget how large the rural areas of California are - it's not all SF and LA. And plenty of communities in urban areas were not keen to talk to the state about their disabled family member. Until the California initiative, most disabled adults were not known to the state.
As for now needing institutions for older disabled adults that we didn't need before, that is thankfully due to the longer lifespans of disabled adults.
Nonverbal autistic individuals and the resources they need are not as popular right now as neurodivergent pride. But there's a reason for this. A whole generation of kids diagnosed autistic and put into special education all their lives to learn how to act like neurotypicals ("don't talk about your special interests, sit still, look people in the eyes, don't be too honest, dress better, etc, etc" have reached young adulthood, and they are very reasonably angry about the experience.
I don't think autism is rising. The labels, diagnostic criteria, resources, understanding, and research are always shifting.
This is a beautifully written piece, but I think the math is convoluted. There are now 1 in 36 boys diagnosed with autism - that is only because the category now includes quirky, verbal, sometimes highly verbal people who fit into the neurodiversity category. Those 1 in 38 are NOT nonverbal boys who will never be independent.
Later in the article it states that disabling autism has been measured in California to have gone from 3,262 in 1989 to more than 160,000 in 2022. Again, this is due to a change in definition. More verbal people are in the 2022 category than the 1989, and more nonverbal people previously diagnosed as "mentally retarded" and other no longer used diagnoses and labels are now in the 2022 autism category. As it states elsewhere there has been a RECENT movement in California to identify all disabled adults who need are. People forget how large the rural areas of California are - it's not all SF and LA. And plenty of communities in urban areas were not keen to talk to the state about their disabled family member. Until the California initiative, most disabled adults were not known to the state.
As for now needing institutions for older disabled adults that we didn't need before, that is thankfully due to the longer lifespans of disabled adults.
Nonverbal autistic individuals and the resources they need are not as popular right now as neurodivergent pride. But there's a reason for this. A whole generation of kids diagnosed autistic and put into special education all their lives to learn how to act like neurotypicals ("don't talk about your special interests, sit still, look people in the eyes, don't be too honest, dress better, etc, etc" have reached young adulthood, and they are very reasonably angry about the experience.
I don't think autism is rising. The labels, diagnostic criteria, resources, understanding, and research are always shifting.