I'm feeling very fortunate that my boys are not Autistic. If parenting wasn't hard enough, being the parent to a special needs child is something so consuming, it takes someone very strong, patient, and courageous. These parents are highly regarded in my opinion. I both respect and admire them. 

     Is it just me though, or does it seem there are a lot more Autistic youngsters today than there were back in the day? ("The day" just happens to be between 1980-2000) 

     I don't remember going to school with anyone who said, "Excuse me, I'm Autistic".  Everyone back in my day had ADD.  Then it was ADHD.  When you were rude or being annoying, it wasn't your fault, you had ADHD.  Then you'd get the, "Oh, you poor thing."  

     Then, briefly, it was, "Pardon my outburst, I'm Bi Polar". 

     It seems everyone you know now has at least one kid with Autism, or they're assumed to have the milder form of Autism, like Asperger's disorder. 

"Oh, he's not getting along with other kids? Is it Asperger's? Because he's so smart and there's no other legitimate reason, you're a good parent."

     I'd have to think, "Did I teach him social skills? Is he picking boogers in class? Did I ever teach him not to do that?"  I’d have to consider other possibilities before I jumped to Autism.

     Now, I'm not suggesting Autism doesn't exist. Clearly it does, I've seen Rainman a hundred times. I even have a step brother that lives in a care facility because he has Autism. The real, ‘can't take care of yourself’ form. There are several forms of Autism. 

 Classic autism: the most severe, and best understood, of the autism spectrum disorders. People with classic autism have trouble interacting with other people and often make repeated, robotic movements. Developmental delays are common.

 Asperger syndrome: language develops normally. IQ is generally average or above, typically with uneven abilities.

 Disintegrative disorder: marked by normal early development, followed by worsening abilities in language, social interactions and everyday functioning.

 Rett disorder: a rare genetic disorder caused by a defect in a single gene. Unlike other forms of autism Rett disorder affects more girls than boys.

 Autism spectrum disorder not otherwise specified: The catch-all category. People with PDD have the three classic features of autism but don't fit the other subtypes. Includes high-functioning autism.

     When it comes to this epidemic, I'm more inclined to believe it's not so much nature as it is nurture. It's been reported some towns have much higher rates of diagnosed children than others. Which makes you think, Is it in the water? Maybe it is. Or maybe, it's a 'trendy' thing to do. It may sound terrible, but maybe Autism's the new 'it' desease. 

     If you live in a town where so many kids are affected, and yours isn't, you may be outside the loop.  When you're at the park with the other moms, they'll be talking about little Austin's behavioral problems or how Sarah's misunderstood and Madison's eccentricities; Tyler's physician is really nice, Emily's exceptionally bright for having Autistim...

     You wouldn't want to be left out of the club.  You'd have to explain that your kid has temper tantrums and they aren't related to any disorder.  Your kid chews of the corner of the table and isn't Autistic, he just like the taste of tables. Gosh, that would make you look like a terrible parent.

     I remember when ADD and ADHD were the 'it' diagnoses. The line at the nurse’s office to take your meds at lunch seemed to get longer and longer as more and more kids were deemed 'ADD'.  It's true; I did improve drastically on medication.  I got better grades and teachers hated me less.  I'm, personally, still being medicated for the disorder. Now it's Adult ADD and whether or not I truly have this disorder is unclear.  All I do know is, I feel better medicated than not. 

     I wonder if Autism is a parent's desire to have a label on their kids.  I wonder if it's an excuse for a lack of parenting.  I wonder if it's a trendy diagnoses.  I wonder how many kids are misdiagnosed.  I wonder how this is going to affect my son's generation when they're adults. 

     I'm glad neither of my children are displaying signs of Autism. Trevor also doesn’t have ADD or ADHD. I'm thankful for that as well.  Maybe I'm lucky.  Or maybe I'm just not peer-presured to be in the club.  Who knows?

     I would like to see a cultural study performed of this subject.  I'd also like to see if my generation has adverse results due to our diagnoses for attention disorders.  Like, how we're adjusted as adults and if there is a higher rate of substance abuse among the medicated children compared to those who were not.