The apparent rise in autistic people in the last 40 years

Question

I’m curious as to the seeming rise of autistic humans in the last decades.

Is it that it was just not understood and therefore not diagnosed/reported?

Are there environmental or even societal factors that have corresponded to this increase in cases?

In: Biology

Answer 1

1. A number of previously separately classified disorders/conditions have been consolidated under the single term Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

2. Our understanding of and willingness to acknowledge ASD has lead to doctors/therapists/psychiatrist being better prepared and willing to diagnose people

Having said that there are a LOT of people who self-diagnose and while some probably would qualify, others would not. So fake/misapplied diagnosis has also increased the apparent number.