"No autistics when I grew up"

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Is it me, or are more kids being diagnosed with the Triple A’s these days — ADHD, autism and anxiety?

No, it’s not me. Kids are definitely being diagnosed more than they were 45 years ago. And I know plenty of kids who are on meds or seeing a therapist to learn to cope with a neurological or anxiety issue.

Except it’s not because there’s an increase in the number of kids with a neurological issue.

A lot of unsympathetic boomers have said, “We didn’t have autism/ADHD/anxiety in my day. No one I know had it.” Sure thing, James, now tell me more about how your map collection is alphabetized by cartographer.

I’m not saying we didn’t have ADHD or autism when I was a kid; we absolutely did. We just didn’t recognize it or know how to deal with it. The ADHD kids were pegged as troublemakers who needed to cut sugar from their diet and keep their hands to themselves. The autistic kids were put in classes for kids with developmental disabilities.

The kids who are taking medication these days are the ones who, when I was a kid, were bullied by classmates for being weird, spanked by teachers for being disruptive, labeled as malcontents for thinking differently, and punished by everyone because they couldn’t switch off the part of their brain that races 100 times faster and thinks differently than everyone else’s.

We’re not seeing an increase in the number of people on the spectrum these days; we’re seeing an increase in the number of diagnoses.

That’s for any number of reasons: Awareness is growing. We have more and better diagnostic tools. We have a better understanding of how neurological issues manifest themselves. Also, it’s contagious, so when one kid in school gets it, everyone around them will catch it, too.

That last one is completely untrue; I wanted to see if you were paying attention. Autism is not measles, and it cannot be vaccinated against. Because if it were, people would probably say the vaccine causes measles and refuse to get it for their kids.

I do believe kids are getting more competitive about their issues, though. A few days ago, I overheard some college kids discussing their ADHD diagnoses, medications and coping mechanisms, and it was about two steps away from a legit argument. There was a lot of, “Oh, yeah? Try getting back to sleep when your thoughts wake you up at 4 a.m. and the Internet is down.”

“That’s nothing. Try getting back to sleep when you wake up at 3 a.m. and it’s not time to take your medication yet!”

“You guys sleep?”

The interesting thing was that this was not something they were embarrassed or ashamed of. As one of the students said, “When you’re in college, ADHD is a superpower, not a problem!”

So, now it’s a thing they not only live with, but they’re proud of it. And why shouldn’t they be? They’re not being forced to hide who they are or be ashamed of it. They’re not being bullied for it, and if they are, they’ve already thought of 57 ways they’re going to get you back before you even finish your first insult.

Anxiety is also on the rise these days. I know more students who are taking anti-anxiety medications and are fighting panic attacks than ever before.

Again, not because there are more kids with anxiety. Rather, they aren’t being made to hide their feelings and mask their anxiety, like when I was a kid, only to be surprised when they grow up addicted to alcohol and drugs.

Also, I think it’s because we don’t use pencils anymore.

When I was a kid, we wrote with pencils. We took notes with pencils. We did homework with pencils. We doodled with pencils. We wrote notes to friends with pencils. Other kids wrote mean notes about me to friends with pencils.

And what did the nervous and anxious kids do when they weren’t writing notes or doing homework? They chewed on their pencils. My friends who were always stressed and nervous had pencils that looked like they had played baseball with a bucket of gravel.

Queasy before a quiz? Nibble your No. 2 pencil. Tense before a test? Teeth your Ticonderoga. Grumpy about your grades. Gum your graphite. You get the picture.

Nowadays, kids use phones for everything, and they can’t chew on their phones, mostly because they can’t fit the phone cases in their mouths.

I should also point out that this is complete fiction. This is not how anxiety works, and I don’t actually believe we have an increase in the number of anxious kids because they don’t use pencils.

I also don’t believe Tylenol causes autism; that’s just idiotic.

Instead, we live in a society where there is plenty to be anxious about, and kids are being taught to express and cope with their feelings, not grind them into little balls of rage and wrap them inside the fear of a spanking or detention.

Rather than complain about the mental state of “kids these days,” tell me instead why you break into a sweat whenever your food touches on your plate.

I mostly agree with the OP, but there is also a possibility that people having kids later in life is causing a genuine increase in autism cases. Most people these days are waiting until their thirties to have kids, and that increases the chances of autism in their children.

At a time when autism is daily in the news thanks to the intense controversy raised by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claims that vaccines are the main cause of the neurodevelopmental disorder, another factor that scientists say is much more compelling and credible is being ignored: older fathers.

Forget the ticking biological clock that haunts women, and forget the time-worn assumptions that they are to blame for infertility, color blindness, ADHD, schizophrenia, hemophilia and even baldness. When it comes to autism, new research suggests it’s the father’s age that may carry more weight.

A wave of studies from 2024 and 2025 is reframing the conversation, showing that advanced paternal age is statistically linked to higher rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. A 2024 meta-analysis of 41 studies found that fathers over 40 had a 51% greater chance of having a child diagnosed with autism compared to those under 30. A 2025 analysis of 5.7 million children echoed the trend: dads in their 40s saw a 28% increase in risk, while those over 50 faced a 66% jump. For fathers over 55, the odds quadrupled. That is a shocking statistic that no one talks about.

And the timing couldn’t be more relevant. In the U.S., the average age of first-time fathers has climbed from 27 in 1980 to over 31 today. In urban centers like New York and San Francisco, it’s not uncommon for men to become fathers well into their 40s. Celebrity culture and biotech optimism have helped normalize late fatherhood, framing it as a lifestyle choice rather than a biological variable. But the data suggests otherwise: age isn’t just a number—it’s a mutational clock.

Scientists point to de novo mutations—spontaneous genetic changes that accumulate in sperm as men age—as one likely mechanism. But that isn’t the only one, there are a host of others.

As men get older, their sperm can change in ways that may affect how a child’s brain develops.
Small genetic glitches: These tiny changes happen more often in older fathers and may play a role in autism.

Shifts in how genes behave: Even if the genes themselves don’t change, the way they “switch on or off” can be different in older dads—and that might influence brain development.

Timing of fatherhood: Some researchers think men with subtle traits linked to autism may delay having children, which could skew the numbers.

Lifestyle and health: Older fathers may have different diets, stress levels, or exposures to chemicals that could affect their children’s development.

Social patterns: In some cases, older dads may partner with older moms, and maternal age can also be a factor—so it’s hard to separate the two completely.

There is a well documented link between older parents, especially older fathers and having autistic children.
Too Late to Father? The Autism Risk RFK, Jr. Wants to Ignore: Older Dads

And yet I know of so many families in which the eldest child is on the spectrum while younger ones aren't.

I mostly agree with the OP, but there is also a possibility that people having kids later in life is causing a genuine increase in autism cases. Most people these days are waiting until their thirties to have kids, and that increases the chances of autism in their children.

I'm am the oldest of 3 and the only Autistic. My dad was 29 when I was born.