As a mother of three neurodivergent children and being neurodiverse myself I’d like to say it has always been there and is now only being seen as clearly many of us struggled silently as children not really ever being told what was happening with our feelings and thoughts or having any idea that our brains were wired differently and we just needed different things.
in reality I think the world we live in has had a massive impact on the rising numbers, I think many misdiagnosis are being given to children because of things like diet and screen time these things have a major affect on the body and without trials there is no saying things wouldn’t improve, many young boys told they have adhd when in fact they are just bored from sitting all day at school for nine hours that’s not what little boys or any young growing filled with energy child is supposed to do. We have so much bad food and ingredients and many of our children are raised by screens and spend very little time at home with their own parents. Times have changed and children are just struggling more in general.
I think Autism has always been there but may people were not coming forward for help either due to having no insight or worried about stigma. Like Catherine said may people have been struggling in silent and diet also could be a contributing factor. We have seen a rise in young children drinking energy drinks, if they are already active this would make them even hyper. I do not have anyone with autism in my family but I know a friend who has child recently diagnosed with autism.
I do think of people like my Grandad. A man seen as clever but very quirky and odd. Traits we can recognise now as autistic but just taken at face value and dismissed back then if somebody was high functioning!
I agree it’s likely always been there, and that modern lifestyles and diets are helping exaggerate and magnify it. I cant help but sometimes question if the ‘things that shall never be named as a cause’ are involved