Are there more autistic people now?
Summary
The number of people being diagnosed with autism has increased significantly over the past few decades. This doesn't necessarily mean that more people are autistic, but could be due to changes in who is considered autistic.Key Facts
- Autism is diagnosed by observing specific social challenges and certain repetitive behaviors.
- The number of autism diagnoses in the UK increased eight times between 1998 and 2018.
- Other countries with available data, like the US and European nations, show a similar rise in autism diagnoses.
- The definition of autism has expanded over time to include more types, like Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).
- Autism used to be associated more with children and males, but more broad definitions now include adults and females.
- There's not enough clear data to determine if the actual number of autistic people has increased, or if it's only the number of diagnoses that has risen.
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