But then it had to wait another fifty years until autism became so successful it got a new name for itself. According to Mr. C, that name was Autism Spectrum Disorder. The new spectrum is very wide. Lots of people who have normal lives and families are “on” the spectrum. What was once thought to be a rare, severe ailment is now recognized to be a common neurobehavioral disorder that occurs along a broad spectrum. The spectrum is so broad you can’t see from one end to the other. Maybe that’s why the number of children with autism keeps going up. Autism is now sometimes said to be the largest childhood epidemic in history. The spectrum is called a comprehensive umbrella term. It covers lots of things like Rett Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder that used to have their own special individual place but now all are part of one big autistic family. Also, moms are having children at a later age than before and these children are more likely to be autistic.
