4 ms·

"Now researchers believe they know what’s responsible for the bulk of the rise: Nothing. Much of the rise in autism is likely a statistical mirage." I've kind

"Now researchers believe they know what’s responsible for the bulk of the rise: Nothing. Much of the rise in autism is likely a statistical mirage." I've kind of always thought this, ever since I read a tumblr post about how the sudden change in toddlers would have been called "my child being switched with a changeling", and other such tales. Also, I think most of pre-industrial life would have been more bearable for autistic people: No sudden noises like ambulance sirens, solid routine and repetitive jobs, not as many large crowds.

jhardy54 4y ago
> tumblr post Was it this one? https://writingonthecastlewalls.tumblr.com/post/181877541942/hazeldomain-oockitty-coldalbion/amp https://writingonthecastlewalls.tumblr.com/post/181877541942...
bluGill 4y ago
In many old books there is some form of 'Larry, he never leaves the farm.' We will never know what Larry had, but the meme was common enough several hundred years ago.
- verilux68 4y ago
  Hey there! I tried to google this but just found another one of your comments from a few months ago haha, any chance you could share some examples?
  - bluGill 4y ago
    To kill A Mockingbird. Been about 30 years since I read it, but there was the guy who they concluded just liked to stay home. Or something like that, as I said been years. Many other books written in the 1800s have something similar.
- dieselgate 4y ago
  Not quite sure what the parent comment is referring to either but it made me think of Lennie from Of Mice And Men. Lennie just likes to pet things on the farm
stormbrew 4y ago
There’s a similar thing with ADHD, i think, also allegedly on the rise and alarming people: modern life is just a lot more distracting, and we have so many more things in our lives that disrupt concentration that you can’t really say with certainty that people who are adhd weren’t just far less likely to fall through the cracks before. Ironically, it’s likely adhd people (and other neurodivergent people) who basically built that modern world that’s no longer particularly well suited to us (or at least to us being employed).
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
Kaze404 4y ago
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  That is pretty ahistorical. It's a great story for elementary kids, but not true. Lobotomy was mis-used, for a wide array of things it wasn't effective for, but that happens when you concept of psychological disorders consists solely of "insanity".
- cpsns 4y ago
  That is true of a very, very small portion of recent history. Functionally autistic people would have been fine, if not the slightly weird, eccentric guy in a group.
- stormbrew 4y ago
  This.. is not really accurate? I mean first of all asylums as we know them now (or rather as they existed from like, the 1800s until about the 90s) and especially lobotomies (invented in the early 20th century) are relatively modern inventions. For the most part people dealt with “weird” family themselves. Which was likely easier before the “atomic family” came about and made it harder to get help with complex situations.
  - Kaze404 4y ago
    That makes sense. I appreciate the correction.
- michaelbrave 4y ago
  I've lived in some small towns and farming commmunities, they get away with a lot more living there, meaning a lot of people I met then had ideas that would have been considered nuts in the city (and I don't mean politics, racism or other bigotries) and everyone was like "that's just how that family is, a bit off but who cares". People were nosier and knew each other's business more due to gossip and listening to police chatter, but they tended to leave each other alone more too and didn't bother if someone was off or strange unless they seemed dangerous.
nradov 4y ago
There is circumstantial evidence that in pre-industrial Europe, many autistic people were sent to become monks or nuns. It's impossible to prove now, but some of them probably would have fit in fairly well with those communities.
LaundroMat 4y ago
OT, but thanks for summarizing the article in one sentence. How I yearn back to the days where it was considered good form to use headlines as a summary instead of an invitation to click.

jhardy54 4y ago

> tumblr post Was it this one? https://writingonthecastlewalls.tumblr.com/post/181877541942/hazeldomain-oockitty-coldalbion/amp https://writingonthecastlewalls.tumblr.com/post/181877541942...

bluGill 4y ago

In many old books there is some form of 'Larry, he never leaves the farm.' We will never know what Larry had, but the meme was common enough several hundred years ago.

verilux68 4y ago
Hey there! I tried to google this but just found another one of your comments from a few months ago haha, any chance you could share some examples?
- bluGill 4y ago
  To kill A Mockingbird. Been about 30 years since I read it, but there was the guy who they concluded just liked to stay home. Or something like that, as I said been years. Many other books written in the 1800s have something similar.
dieselgate 4y ago
Not quite sure what the parent comment is referring to either but it made me think of Lennie from Of Mice And Men. Lennie just likes to pet things on the farm

stormbrew 4y ago

There’s a similar thing with ADHD, i think, also allegedly on the rise and alarming people: modern life is just a lot more distracting, and we have so many more things in our lives that disrupt concentration that you can’t really say with certainty that people who are adhd weren’t just far less likely to fall through the cracks before. Ironically, it’s likely adhd people (and other neurodivergent people) who basically built that modern world that’s no longer particularly well suited to us (or at least to us being employed).

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

Kaze404 4y ago

vorpalhex 4y ago
That is pretty ahistorical. It's a great story for elementary kids, but not true. Lobotomy was mis-used, for a wide array of things it wasn't effective for, but that happens when you concept of psychological disorders consists solely of "insanity".
cpsns 4y ago
That is true of a very, very small portion of recent history. Functionally autistic people would have been fine, if not the slightly weird, eccentric guy in a group.
stormbrew 4y ago
This.. is not really accurate? I mean first of all asylums as we know them now (or rather as they existed from like, the 1800s until about the 90s) and especially lobotomies (invented in the early 20th century) are relatively modern inventions. For the most part people dealt with “weird” family themselves. Which was likely easier before the “atomic family” came about and made it harder to get help with complex situations.
- Kaze404 4y ago
  That makes sense. I appreciate the correction.
michaelbrave 4y ago
I've lived in some small towns and farming commmunities, they get away with a lot more living there, meaning a lot of people I met then had ideas that would have been considered nuts in the city (and I don't mean politics, racism or other bigotries) and everyone was like "that's just how that family is, a bit off but who cares". People were nosier and knew each other's business more due to gossip and listening to police chatter, but they tended to leave each other alone more too and didn't bother if someone was off or strange unless they seemed dangerous.

nradov 4y ago

There is circumstantial evidence that in pre-industrial Europe, many autistic people were sent to become monks or nuns. It's impossible to prove now, but some of them probably would have fit in fairly well with those communities.

LaundroMat 4y ago

OT, but thanks for summarizing the article in one sentence. How I yearn back to the days where it was considered good form to use headlines as a summary instead of an invitation to click.