Public perception and available resources have changed dramatically over the last 25 years. As recently as the mid-80s, nobody even knew about autism. Not even

Public perception and available resources have changed dramatically over the last 25 years. As recently as the mid-80s, nobody even knew about autism. Not even doctors. Depending upon where you lived, you might have to visit a dozen different specialists before you could find someone familiar with autism and get that diagnosis. Once you had the diagnosis, all the normal people you'd encounter in life would regard it as some made-up condition ("Hey, I'm artistic too, lol."). It was difficult to explain, which made it difficult to get special services at school, etc. Early childhood intervention was not widely available the way it is today. The people who are now dying early and contributing to these statistics got little of the help and awareness that benefits newer generations of those on the spectrum. I have hope that these numbers will improve over time as autism becomes more widely understood.