One danger in any quotes about autism statistics is that sometimes folks use autism as shorthand for "autism spectrum disorders", which includes much more mild

One danger in any quotes about autism statistics is that sometimes folks use autism as shorthand for "autism spectrum disorders", which includes much more mild things like Asperger's syndrome. Plus, one could argue that some of the things they classify as "bad" within that "range" are actually good things. For example, I've noticed that the rise in so called autism or ASD roughly correlates with the rise of the Internet and web usage. Perhaps something about the web and our increased use of it has brought out a much more nerdy aspect of many people's brains, a wider swath of people than previously had engaged in nerd/geek/Asperger's-like behaviors and thought processes. That could explain the "cause" rather than some dramatic increase in some biological/chemical factor. Maybe it's just a social/intellectual shift.