I was discussing this in an autism group the other day. The topic was “why are there so many more autistic people now than there used to be”
One of the responses was: there aren't, we're just more aware of the condition and able to better access assesment and diagnosis. But I also brought up another reason that led to an important discussion. Simply put, life, in certain ways, is harder now than it was back in the 50s and 60s and when life gets especially difficult for neurodivergent people, the effects are more noticeable. In a world that is louder, busier and brighter than ever before, people start to realize how sensitive they are to it all, they start to notice issues in themselves that other people don't seem to struggle with.
Work plays a HUGE part in this. It used to be easier for people with developmental disabilities to get jobs that were decently suited to them that paid enough to support themselves and even a family. These days its a long, stressful process to even get a single interview and the current interview process is very intense and many companies expect people to go through SEVERAL rounds of interviews before they even consider a candidate.
My grandparents aren't officially diagnosed with anything, but most of their children and grandchildren are. You can see neurodevelopmental conditions all over my family tree and my grandmother's autism and OCD is especially apparent. But none of this mattered when they were young. My grandfather got a job as a garbage man and made wooden puzzles as a hobby. My grandmother turned her special interest into a job by breeding exotic cats for show. They were able to make enough of a living that they were comfortable, with little stress and could afford to raise three kids. They didn't even need any schooling to get their jobs. They retired before 65 and got to spend the rest of their lives being developmentally impaired but comfortable, and having the time and money to focus even more on their special interests.
My mom and her siblings (who have been officially diagnosed with autism, ocd, bipolar)also didn't need to struggle very much in the 80s to get interviews and find employment. My mentally disabled mother was able to walk into a job fair and get hired on the spot just because the employer liked her response to the question “what kind of person would you describe yourself as” to which she replied “a happy one.”
Meanwhile, I'm 30 and have had to jump through a multitude of hoops just to land an interview of which the questions often seem designed to weed people like me out. Interviews are hard on autistic people, but they don't need to be SO hard. There used to be a time where someone with lower cognitive abilities could walk into a grocery store and walk out with a job as a grocery bagger and that would actually pay them enough to live a somewhat normal life. Now its become harder and harder just to get a low skilled, low paid job and since these are often the only jobs cognitively disabled people can do, its no wonder so many people are on disability or living on the streets.
I hate the stigma around disabilities and employment. Time and time again we hear things like “if you can type, you can work”, “if you can use a computer, you can get a job”
When the reality is a lot more complicated than that. There is resentment towards disabled people who don't work and live off of government aid, but so many people fail to realize just how astonishingly difficult its become for disabled to get jobs.
Anyway. I'm done ranting. If you're a disabled person who has the same frustrations as I do, please vent here.