this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Autism has been trending lately. A similar trend occurred with bipolar disorder; nearly 100% of people in rehabilitation clinics have this diagnosis. The most likely reason for this trend is insurance fraud. An insurance company will pay more to treat a suicidal bipolar autist then they will to treat an addict with a transient anxiety disorder.
Another factor is patient expectations. When a parent or patient pays for a psychiatrist, they expect a diagnosis. They don't want to be told that they are normal and fine.
No. It's actually really well documented why there's been an increase.
Previously women were seen as less likely to be autistic and often considered for other diagnoses without considering autism. This was also the case for POC.
Secondly, until 2014 ADHD and autism were exclusive diagnoses - if you had one you couldn't have the other. Now they have realized that they actually occur together naturally diagnoses for both have increased.
Asperger's is no longer diagnosed in a lot of places (only since around 2015, depending on location) therefore these diagnoses are now joining autism diagnosis numbers.
Access to healthcare, more education, more research than ever before and an ever increasing understanding that autism can occur with or without a low IQ.
Naught to do with insurance and everything to do with fantastic people who have done a lot of research to deepen the understanding of autism and include previously excluded people in a diagnosis that has no exclusions (any colour, any gender, any IQ level, any culture, any age).