it's not a mental illness .... pretty ignorant thing to say. Theres no uptick in autism diagnoses. It's more that having your mind looked at, has lost its stigma in culture, so people are getting their heads read and their children's.
The naughty kid who can't sit still in class .... go stare at the wall, right? Or sit in the corner. ... Or the kid who would sleep in class and know the answers. or the weird kid who did weird shit. Or the kid who was amazing at music or something but couldn't tie their own shoelaces......these kids were all there when we were kids.
now those kids have medication for things like adhd or anxiety , which are usually autisms right hand man , or speech therapy , occupational therapy to help with sensory processing issues , like holding your pen, modified learning so kids who are probably the most intelligent kid in the class , but can't learn in the systematic , archaic learning structures that is our education system, can get what they need out of school.
Society has become more accepting of neurodivergent behaviours , and as such more and more people are open about it . Thats all thats changed . And many smart parents who heeded the advice , like my self , have now seen the huge benefits of getting a diagnoses and medication , to watch my kid be able to quiten his mind . sure every social interaction for him might be a case of a flow chart for him , rather than organic for neuro typical people, but hes the funniest kid ive ever met and i wouldnt trade him for any of the vanilla neurotypical kids that hes told hes supposed to be like ..... hes got way more to offer than being just another lemming marching off the cliff .