When did autism become high profile?

Question

Did autism become high profile in the late 1990s or early 2000s? I need to know because I didn't discover autism until late 2004. So can anyone please give me a specific answer?

I've been living with undiagnosed autism. I struggled to find the answers on why I had such severe learning disabilities and why I was so different from other kids.

I didn't know I had autism until I was 19. When I did the research, everything makes sense about my symptoms and autistic traits.

BTW, I was born with moderate autism. Now I'm kind of kind function.

I meant to say that I was born with moderate autism. But now I kind of have high function autism.

I keep on wondering why I didn't discover autism when I was in elementary school, middle school, or high school. If my autism was discovered, I could have gotten help instead of struggling in a normal school.

Answer 1

You didn't get diagnosed because you "looked" normal. You didn't rock and you spoke, so people didn't know about it. I was only diagnosed because I was really severe (I had a criteria where I had 48 out of the 50 symptoms) I was a girl, making it harder since it's a "male" disorder. I showed symptoms when I was 9 months, and didn't get diagnosed until 18 months because of doctors. I think your true question is why weren't you diangosed until recently, not when Autism became high profile

An excellent book with a woman with Aspergers who wasn't diagnosed until she was in her late 20's to early 30's (I can't remember the exact date) is Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism by Dawn Phd Prince-Hughes. It's a beautiful journey of Dawn's struggles to be normal, until she realizes she was like the gorillas. Unique and misunderstood.

Answer 2

i'll probably get a lot of thumbs down for this, but i think autism is being OVERLY diagnosed these days... when people can cure a disease with the severity of autism just by taking gluten out of their diets, well, i'm not so sure if it's just more of a behavioral disorder or a completely different disease. rainman was more of a savant than anything... and even so, he wasn't exactly a high-functioning autistic, which seems to be getting more common everyday. my brother is severely autistic. he also has PDD and is strongly medicated to help his behaviors and prevent seizures. my brother progressed at a slightly-above average rate until he was about two-years-old. he started walking and talking and was potty trained. at that point, though, he began to regress very quickly. this is a very common trait in autistics (regression). he was diagnosed in 1986 at four years old. prior to finding the right pediatrician, he was labeled as "mentally retarded". since he has very limited speech, i'm not sure if he knows he's "different". honestly, if i had to take a guess, i assume he would think everyone ELSE is different - not that he was the one with the problem. autism seems to be becoming a catch-all for many seemingly undersirable behavioural traits. look at how much attention ADD had prior to this whole "even jenny mccarthy's child has autism" (well, "had"... cured by eliminating gluten...) thing - it was everywhere. why do so many more people have diseases and afflictions now versus in the 50's or 60's? and please, don't say because everything was pushed under the rug back then - if the same amount of people were diagnosed with disabilities back then as there are now, imagine how many more respite homes and institutions there would be now... imagine how much EASIER it would be for families who have children who desperately need help to receive it...
if you still want answers, read a book called "nobody nowhere" by donna williams.

Answer 3

It's So sad that so many People Relate rainman to Autism Considering He is a Savant. yes This type Does Fall Under the Same Umbrella.The reason's For The As you Call It high Profiling Is Awareness Is being Spread.More Children and Now Teenagers and adults are being diagnosed properly. The medical community is Becoming More knowledgeable in this field.So that misdiagnosed of mental heath aren't so common and a more accurate diagnoses Of Autism and other Neurological diagnoses can be made.

Answer 4

You are asking a lot of questions about autism. One the best resources for this kind of information are social workers. Also people are misdiagnosed all of the time. You say that you have high functioning autism, do you mean Aspergers because this may not have been in the DSMIII when you were diagnosed.

Answer 5

Before Rainman Autism was around. It just didn't have a name. When my son was born in 1979 I kept telling the doctor something was wrong but he wouldn't listen. Finally I took him to the Cleveland Clinic at age 3 and a half and they diagnosed it. Back in the early 1970s I worked in an institution for mentally retarded people and thinking back many of the patients were a lot like my son. 50 years ago they didn't know what to do with autistic people so they were institutionalized. When I was working at the institution education for people with disabilities was just beginning. People with disabilities are a lot luckier today.

Answer 6

I believe when "Rainman" starring Dustin Hoffman & Tom Cruise came out people got a large dose of reality. A lot of people where in the dark about Autism and never understood the disability.

Now, a lot of celebrities are coming forward to reveal that someone they know has Autism. Toni Braxton's son has Autism and she's become quite poster mom.

Answer 7

Autism awareness began to come out about 2004 so that might be why you discovered it then. Autism itslef has been around since the 1900's at that time however there wasnt a name for it but histroy says there are people who showed signs of it. (Cousin has autism)

Answer 8

I think autisim has been around for along time and has been misdiagnosed for many years . Just in the past 8 years they are now offering more for people with autisim. Of my 4 boys 2 are autistic and there seems to be something new they say everyday now. guess what ? It is people like YOU that I consider the experts and that I like to hear from . You can be the one to teach the people that are the so called experts because you have lived it. I wish you the best in all that you do !

Answer 9

Autism has only recently become a spectrum disorder, as it was originally a diagnosis for low-functioning individuals, (hence the exponential growth in diagnosis rates), specifically the during the mid to late 90's.

btw, i have met Kim Peak, who was the basis for the movie RAINMAN with Dustin Hoffman & Tom Cruise. Wow, is he incredible!

Answer 10

Since you didn't specifically define what you mean by high profile - no. Autism has existed for several decades and for some people it has been "high profile" long before the late 1990s.