[mistermcgruff]

Yeah. Autism is diagnosed by symptoms and the symptoms have changed over time. It used to be that an individual had to actively avoid social contact. Now they just need to be socially impaired even if they seek contact. As the symptoms have changed and as awareness has increased in the medical community, so have diagnoses increased.

[hoopism]

I agree that it's not the insane uptick that the raw statistics would seem to indicate. But disputing that fact doesn't negate the fact that 1 in 68 kids has some form of disability (not saying you did... but I have seen that from some people as reason to dismiss the issue).

I actually don't care one bit about the diagnosis itself. It's not as if having the diagnosis means you can take a pill to get rid of it. The only benefit we got from a diagnosis came from insurance paying for certain claims they previously would not have.

[judk]

And among those 1 in 68 are people whose brilliance in extricably tied to that disability -- including most of the greatest scientists of past and present.