These posts piss me off.

A friend posted this this morning, and I wanted to share what I told her with you guys.

As context, I am a photographer with a heart for the special needs community. I have worked with people with special needs since I was 18. People with autism have a special place in my heart and it breaks my heart to see anti-vax people treat them like they're the scum of the earth and nothing could be worse than having what they have.

Here's my comment to my friend:

I seriously hate these. In 1975, having autism was one of the "worst possible dianoses" because doctors swore up and down that parents' children were totally gone and they were basically just bodies with no brains in them. Individuals with autism were locked away, hidden from the world, grossly mistreated, or often times parents just didn't even take them in to get checked because they didn't even want to know and just lived in denial without getting their children help.

Thankfully, throughout the years we have learned so much about autism and the amazing people that have this diagnosis. Parents are less afraid to get their children diagnosed because there are therapies, medications, and tools which can help them control their bodies which do not obey their amazing brains. The official recorded numbers have increased because doctors know how to recognize it and parents are less afraid to receive the diagnosis.

In 2013 the disgnoses of "autism" "aspergers syndrome" and some severe cases of ADHD were placed under the umbrealla term of "Autism Spectrum Disorder" or ASD. This is because reasearchers realized that autism was too wide and unpredictable a disorder to be placed in such small boxes. Those who might previously have been diagnosed as having aspergers are now considered to be "high on the autism spectrum." Vs. those who were diagnosed with "severe autism" are considered lower on the spectrum.

It is a diagnoses that is not fully understood. There is research being [done] (at one point said "down") that is helping us understand bits and pieces, but we don't know the whole story yet. However, in my personal experience I have never ONCE met an individual with autism who was not incredibly smart, empathetic, and compassionate. Whether their bodies were able to show it on the outside or not. I have had conversations about deep political issues with a man with autism who can't speak and needs help getting dressed in the morning. I spent all yesterday walking the riverwalk with a man with autism, he showed me his favorite spots, took me to his favorite ice cream shop, and drove me home. Autism is not so rapidly increasing, while I am not denying that it has more than likely increased a bit. It is becoming more understood and better diagnosed, and our treatment both medically and socially of individuals with autism is at an all time high. Posts like these make autism scary again. It's not an easy diagnoses and those with autism face many many challenges in their lives. But it's not a death sentence. Some of the most amazing people I know have autism and you know what? The world would probably be a better place if there were more people like them.

My friend who loves politics. He speaks using what's called a "letter board." It looks kind of like an alphabet stencil, but if someone holds his elbow and steadies his arm he is able to point to individual letters and spell out full, complex sentences. However he cannot speak aloud and his fine motor skills are not all that great so he needs a fair bit of help with most things. He still helps with chores around the house and does everything he can to tell his parents how much he appreciates them accepting him and helping him be as independent as possible.

This is my friend who I went downtown with. He drove and we did his senior portraits because he is graduating in may. He is a jeweler and metalsmith and made each of his bracelets and rings he's wearing. He is going to school for Metals and has a pretty good scholarship to a small school out of state. He is very independent and very confident, some things still make him nervous though like the thought of rooming with just one other person who may not understand some of the reasons behind his behavior. Both these men have autism, and I just wanted to sort of show that spectrum side of it.

Just in advance, as a side note, this is all coming from personal experience. I am not saying that autism is not increasing as it has been several years since I researched numbers. I am not saying that every parent in the 70s and 80s treated those with autism horribly. I am not trying to offend those parents if you are one. Just that it was not uncommon for individuals who could outdo the smartest mathematicians if given the chance to be locked away in a closet to work on puzzles because that was "all they could do."

Thanks for reading and remember, be kind to others!

FP Edit:
Wow thanks for the upvotes, guys! It's good to see that people are interested in learning about this topic.
I apologize that it's a lot of text and I forgot to do a TL;DR, I just get really really passionate about this subject and don't realize how much I type out :)

TL;DR Photographer with a heart for individuals with special needs discusses why the ideas that autism is rapidly increasing aren't necessarily true because of changing in definition/acceptance of the diagnosis, and talks about why people with autism are wonderful and smart and worth your time! :)

Second edit: There seems to be some confusion and I apologize for not making this clarification originally. When someone is referred to as being being "high on the spectrum," it refers to them being higher functioning than those considered lower on the spectrum. So my metalsmith friend would be higher on the spectrum than my friend who cannot speak verbally. Hope this clears things up!