People say that there are more autistic people now than there used to be, but this is not true. Doctors are just getting better at finding us.
In the year 2000, doctors said that about 1 in 150 people were autistic. Right now, they think 1 in 59 people are autistic. This isn’t because more autistic people are being born. It’s because doctors are getting better.
Doctors still aren’t perfect. They miss some autistic people, like girls and people of colorPeople who are not white. For example, black people are people of color.. Doctors are trying to get better at figuring out who is autistic. That means the number of diagnosed autistic people might keep going up. This is a good thing, since it means more autistic people can get the help we need.