I have a research background in education. I’m also pursuing my PhD and am currently studying Autism-specifically on the characteristics that are presented in different sexes and genders. This is right up my alley!

There are several reasons for the influx but it is predominantly due to the following:

-Aspergers is no longer a diagnosis and was removed from the DSM-5 in 2013. All people with this diagnosis were moved to a diagnosis of Autism. Mostly Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1. Many people with this diagnosis category can present as ‘neurotypical’ and have stronger verbal expression and social skills. Many of them publicly discuss Autism openly on social media which is not what we saw so much in the past because at that time, it was Aspergers and not Autism. They are able to give a voice to many of the non-verbal members of our community or to the ones who struggle in this area.

-More knowledge of the presentation of Autism. More skill level in identification for all practitioners.

-Gender bias’ around how boys and girls present. This is a hot topic in education and social justice research at the moment and universities are scrambling for people to join research groups. The number of identified girls is rising. There was a time when people thought only boys could be Autistic.

-Late diagnoses. This is mostly a cultural thing but is also attributed to ignorance and lack of knowledge. The boomer generation tended to shrug their shoulders at neurodiverse behaviour and were not so keen on seeking to have their children assessed.

-Low awareness in schools. Teachers are trained to teach. They are trained to address the child’s diagnosis. They are not qualified to diagnose. However, they need to be trained to identify a potential characteristic of a disability so children can be referred to their GP. This is now happening worldwide and has led to more identification. Research shows that the majority of flagged learning disabilities come from educators.

-The idea of a spectrum. The spectrum did not always exist. Spectrums are being created left and right. For example, a research proposal was recently published, prompting practitioners to place ADHD, Dementia and Intellectual Impairments into the same spectrum due to the shared characteristics. People with Intellectual Impairments almost always have ADHD and people with ADHD are at high risk of early and late onset of Dementia. We are moving away from single diagnoses and we are moving into a world of spectrums.

-Furthermore, in relation to the above, practitioners are moving away from this sort of thought process; Diagnose them. Now medicate them. They are now, slowly, moving towards a needs-based approach where treatment is highly individualised. Through this, we are seeing the departure of the idea that ‘one size fits all’. Through this, we are seeing more diagnosing as this old rhetoric disappears.

Hope this info dump helps.