The real problem with autism, and this is the real problem: the many numerous children who can not do regular education classes. Many can not even do special needs classes without at least psych meds to keep them under control. Anyone over 40 with a good memory knows we did not have children in our schools who could not do regular education classes, except for a few that were mental retarded who made many efforts to socialize, which would not put them in the category of autism, and then there were the few that went for extra help in reading and math. That was it. There were NO, as in absolutely NO children who were hyperactive. Thus, it doesn't matter what they argue about, I have my memory. I moved every year, living in several different states. We did not have children with hyperactivity and odd behaviors. There were some odd people in the neighborhood, but they were mostly not behaving due to parental neglect. The numerous psych symptoms seen today were extremely rare then. The first Asperger's types to be noticed were what we called computer geeks, and these types did not exist until computers started being used in all the offices. There are some that claim that electrosmog is very related to autism. Thus, this is likely a significant contributing factor. Basically, the many numerous developmental and mental illnesses seen today are just not what we use to see. I can say that most cases are not due to better diagnosing because of the high amount of children today who can not do regular school. And believe me, in my childhood, whispering in class was enough to get you sent to the principal's office, because kids behaved. So, just ask anyone over 40 to learn that it's not due to better diagnosing. They will tell you that ADHD, autism and such just weren't around.