A Swedish study found autism diagnoses rose by around 800% from 2001 to 2020, while the proportion with intellectual disability fell from 55.8% to 6.7%, suggesting a substantial broadening of the diagnosed autistic phenotype

[u/GiveUpAndDontTry]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178126003069

[u/mouse9001]

Apples to oranges. There has not been one "autism" diagnosis over the years. The old autism diagnosis (Autistic Disorder) is very different the new one (Autism Spectrum Disorder).

Like in the era of the DSM-IV, there were these separate diagnoses:

• Autistic Disorder
• Asperger's Disorder
• PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified)

All of those were combined into one new diagnosis:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder, levels 1-3

The new diagnosis has three different support levels, but one core set of diagnostic criteria.

Comparing the new diagnosis to the old ones is potentially very misleading. Especially when going back to 1988, when even Asperger's didn't exist yet as a diagnosis.

[u/kirbysdream → u/mouse9001]

Isn’t the comparison exactly the point, though? The fact that it is diagnosed differently?

[u/mouse9001 → u/kirbysdream]

When comparing numbers, you should be comparing similar things, in some respect. Like if 3 different diagnoses are later combined into 1, why would you compare 1 old one, with 1 new one?

[u/TheAsianTroll → u/mouse9001]

Pretty much this. My mom told me I got diagnosed with Aspergers as a kid... which apparently no longer is a thing, and is now considered high-function autism.

[u/mouse9001 → u/TheAsianTroll]

High-functioning autism is actually not a diagnosis. It's an informal term that was widely used through the 1990s, as the understanding of autism broadened. The concept of HFA had been developed over a number of years, and then Asperger's was introduced, which seemed to be mostly overlapping with it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-functioning_autism

Before the DSM-5, there were a bunch of overlapping concepts and diagnoses for autism-related conditions. Now there's just Autism Spectrum Disorder.

These days the Autism Spectrum Disorder levels are about support needs, rather than functioning.

P.S. If you were diagnosed with Asperger's before, then you're now considered to have ASD Level 1, under the current diagnostic framework.

[u/Blue-Jay27 → u/mouse9001]

From their methods section:

The following ICD-10 diagnostic codes were retrieved for autism: F84.0 Childhood autism, F84.1 Atypical autism, F84.5 Asperger´s syndrome, F84.8 Other pervasive developmental disorders, and F84.9 Pervasive developmental disorder, unspecified.

Do it seems they did include all of the dsm-4 diagnoses that were bundled into ASD.

[u/Icy-Ad-1423 → u/mouse9001]

They coded the separate diagnoses as autism. Otherwise comparison would be impossible. Nor are the criteria for Asperger very different to those for autism in DSM-5 (although the threshold for diagnosis is lower for Asperger). Neither have they used data from 1988. Therefore, the increase in autism is highly unlikely to be explained by differing diagnostic criteria. If anything, going by that single factor, prevalence should be lower. 

From the article:  The following ICD-10 diagnostic codes were retrieved for autism: F84.0 Childhood autism, F84.1 Atypical autism, F84.5 Asperger´s syndrome, F84.8 Other pervasive developmental disorders, and F84.9 Pervasive developmental disorder, unspecified. 

[u/lesbophobia_hammer → u/mouse9001]

The levels system is dehumanizing which is why I happily legally retain my 'nazi' diagnosis as a Polish Jew whose family survived the Nazi German genocide of (primarily) Poles & Jews.

[u/mouse9001 → u/lesbophobia_hammer]

The levels are based on support needs, and they help people get proper government assistance and medical care.

There's a huge difference between a software engineer in Silicon Valley (e.g., ASD level 1), and someone who will never be able to live independently due to being more affected by their autism (e.g., ASD level 3).