I get the feeling that in 50yrs there’ll be an article about how micro plastics have caused an excess of autism, ADHD, gay, bi/pan, and trans people. I know the current theory is that we’re just more aware of these things now than we were 20yrs ago, but iirc there is a correlational link between some plastics and autism and adhd. Additionally, anecdotally, I swear to god there are so many people I’ve met with ADHD and/or autism that it makes me wonder how neurotypical people ended up running the world. Same with people who’re LGBT, especially trans people. Makes me wonder if there’s a similar correlational link between some plastics and being gender/sexually diverse.
I’m not sure the typical part is so typical after all. Given the size and complexity of our brains and the difference in DNA between us, I think more or less every family has their own ways of thinking and acting.
Under that age, too… Just turned 30 this year, still working my way around to doing research to find a provider to diagnose me. Which, with the nature of the condition that could take… a while, ha.
I think it’s mostly because today’s society has less room for neuro divergent personalities. Even in the 80s it was much more socially acceptable to have a blue collar factory or farming job that didn’t require super much intellectual focus or social skills etc. That is not the case in todays society. Western countries (and especially the US) were much more economically equal back then as well, i.e. you could live a much better life on a blue collar income.
You don’t look for a diagnosis unless your personality has an apparent negative impact on your life. And back then it didn’t, as much. I believe.
Society also had odd little release valves for neurodivergents which bizarrely enough could include parts of the military. Most of those are gone though in exchange at least we get treatment more readily than back then
I have to disagree with this. As a 40-something bi man, I can tell you for a fact the LGBTQ community fully existed 30 years ago, but the majority culture was not accepting of it, so it was underground. ADHD and autism, same thing. Only the most severe cases were diagnosed in the 90s, whereas today evaluations for both are routine, as are treatments
Neither the greeks nor the romans were particularly shy about it and… Let’s call it non-christian ideas about sex have cropped up at various places and various times in history. That’s before the invention of plastics, so it got to be some good proof to be able to point a clear finger away from culture and towards plastics.
Routine treatment for autism is applied behavior analysis. While ABA has its origins a hundred years ago, the field as it currently exists is very new, having really only developed in the last 25 years
My dad’s full side is ADHD/ASD. But the millennials/genZs have more severe cases than their uncles and great uncles did.
You can look at all the related disorders that are often comorbid like autoimmune, thyroid, MCAS, etc.
Look at conditions like Type1 diabetes which is growing ~3% per year! This isn’t just better diagnostics but explained by the stress diathesis model of disease interacting with our modern synthetic world.
People also get a lot better at masking as they get older so younger people’s autism appears more severe than older people’s. Same is probably true for ADHD
That article doesn’t say what you seem to think it says. It only talks about an increase in diagnosed cases, which can be explained away by more frequent assessments, better awareness of symptoms, the loosening of diagnostic criteria in the DSM IV, and over-diagnosis to get children with other severe developmental disorders qualified for services. There are lots of reasons we know about that autism is being diagnosed more frequently, but the best you’re going to get on your hypothesis is “we don’t know.”
Environmental risk factors may also play a role, perhaps via complex gene-environment interactions, but no specific exposures with significant population effects are known
I think the increase in LGBTQ+ people is just due to increased social acceptance. More people feel comfortable coming out these days, when in the past they might have repressed their feelings.
Have you met these people IRL or online? Most of the people I’ve met online do fall into one of those two buckets, but almost nobody I’ve met IRL does.
I would assume this is selection bias before attributing it to some other thing. The kinds of circles you run in are going to heavily affect this.
Seems weird to assume that LGBTQ people must be the victim of something in order to be the way they are. It’s wild to assume that neutrotypical people run the world. If this article says anything, it’s that a generation of mentally challenged people primarily run the world and that absolutely tracks when I look around at the maga movement.
Bruh, I’m literally in both groups. I’m LGBT and neurodivergent. I’m not saying micro plastics are necessary for someone to be gay or neurodivergent, nor am I saying that it’s bad. Do you see it as being a negative when people try to figure out what leads to people being gay or autistic? I don’t. That’s just scientific curiosity.
I mean, it feels like it a lot of times. Like, everything has to be done on a schedule, there are all kinds of hidden social requirements, everything happens during the day, etc.
I see; I think we just had different definitions of “running the world.” I thought you meant literally the leaders of nations, but you meant setting the social conventions of society at large.
There was a recent Australian study that found a link between BPAs and autism, although I find it hard to believe there’s a 1-to-1 link, as autism was a thing before plastics were invented.
NTs aren’t running the world. Workaholic sociopaths are running the world.
NDs are becoming more and more socially accepted, and less willing to subjugate themselves. “Neurodivergent” seems to be a misnomer: NTs only seem to be “typical” when NDs closet themselves and try to emulate them.
*shrugs* I’m not as up-to-date on ND research, so your stance about ND/NT possibly being a misnomer is new to me. The first part is a good point though.
I get the feeling that in 50yrs there’ll be an article about how micro plastics have caused an excess of autism, ADHD, gay, bi/pan, and trans people. I know the current theory is that we’re just more aware of these things now than we were 20yrs ago, but iirc there is a correlational link between some plastics and autism and adhd. Additionally, anecdotally, I swear to god there are so many people I’ve met with ADHD and/or autism that it makes me wonder how neurotypical people ended up running the world. Same with people who’re LGBT, especially trans people. Makes me wonder if there’s a similar correlational link between some plastics and being gender/sexually diverse.
I’m not sure the typical part is so typical after all. Given the size and complexity of our brains and the difference in DNA between us, I think more or less every family has their own ways of thinking and acting.
Women with ADHD went so underdiagnosed that it’s considered an epidemic.
Women over the age of 35 were straight up not diagnosed because “girls don’t get ADHD.” So I do somewhat disagree with your premise.
Under that age, too… Just turned 30 this year, still working my way around to doing research to find a provider to diagnose me. Which, with the nature of the condition that could take… a while, ha.
I think it’s mostly because today’s society has less room for neuro divergent personalities. Even in the 80s it was much more socially acceptable to have a blue collar factory or farming job that didn’t require super much intellectual focus or social skills etc. That is not the case in todays society. Western countries (and especially the US) were much more economically equal back then as well, i.e. you could live a much better life on a blue collar income.
You don’t look for a diagnosis unless your personality has an apparent negative impact on your life. And back then it didn’t, as much. I believe.
Society also had odd little release valves for neurodivergents which bizarrely enough could include parts of the military. Most of those are gone though in exchange at least we get treatment more readily than back then
I have to disagree with this. As a 40-something bi man, I can tell you for a fact the LGBTQ community fully existed 30 years ago, but the majority culture was not accepting of it, so it was underground. ADHD and autism, same thing. Only the most severe cases were diagnosed in the 90s, whereas today evaluations for both are routine, as are treatments
It’s not whether it existed or not, it’s the prevalence of it. Nothing wrong with it of course.
Neither the greeks nor the romans were particularly shy about it and… Let’s call it non-christian ideas about sex have cropped up at various places and various times in history. That’s before the invention of plastics, so it got to be some good proof to be able to point a clear finger away from culture and towards plastics.
Routine treatment for autism, that would be something.
I agree with you though.
Routine treatment for autism is applied behavior analysis. While ABA has its origins a hundred years ago, the field as it currently exists is very new, having really only developed in the last 25 years
Good to know. I’ve never heard of it and it’s not a thing in my country.
The cases are on average more extreme now though.
My dad’s full side is ADHD/ASD. But the millennials/genZs have more severe cases than their uncles and great uncles did.
You can look at all the related disorders that are often comorbid like autoimmune, thyroid, MCAS, etc.
Look at conditions like Type1 diabetes which is growing ~3% per year! This isn’t just better diagnostics but explained by the stress diathesis model of disease interacting with our modern synthetic world.
People also get a lot better at masking as they get older so younger people’s autism appears more severe than older people’s. Same is probably true for ADHD
This is based on your personal experience and not the evidence, which does not bear that out
Please present this evidence that rules what I said out.
Took 2s to find this
https://fortune.com/well/2023/04/19/rate-of-profound-autism-rising-not-as-fast-as-milder-cases/
That article doesn’t say what you seem to think it says. It only talks about an increase in diagnosed cases, which can be explained away by more frequent assessments, better awareness of symptoms, the loosening of diagnostic criteria in the DSM IV, and over-diagnosis to get children with other severe developmental disorders qualified for services. There are lots of reasons we know about that autism is being diagnosed more frequently, but the best you’re going to get on your hypothesis is “we don’t know.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reasons-autism-rates-are-up-in-the-u-s/
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144007
https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-statistics-asd
I think the increase in LGBTQ+ people is just due to increased social acceptance. More people feel comfortable coming out these days, when in the past they might have repressed their feelings.
Have you met these people IRL or online? Most of the people I’ve met online do fall into one of those two buckets, but almost nobody I’ve met IRL does.
I would assume this is selection bias before attributing it to some other thing. The kinds of circles you run in are going to heavily affect this.
it’ll probably be the ‘forever chemicals’ (e.g. pfas) but yea, same deal.
Seems weird to assume that LGBTQ people must be the victim of something in order to be the way they are. It’s wild to assume that neutrotypical people run the world. If this article says anything, it’s that a generation of mentally challenged people primarily run the world and that absolutely tracks when I look around at the maga movement.
Bruh, I’m literally in both groups. I’m LGBT and neurodivergent. I’m not saying micro plastics are necessary for someone to be gay or neurodivergent, nor am I saying that it’s bad. Do you see it as being a negative when people try to figure out what leads to people being gay or autistic? I don’t. That’s just scientific curiosity.
Edit: clarified a sentence
Unless you’re being sarcastic, this is absolutely not the case.
Yeah, I wouldn’t call narcissists neurotypical.
I mean, it feels like it a lot of times. Like, everything has to be done on a schedule, there are all kinds of hidden social requirements, everything happens during the day, etc.
I see; I think we just had different definitions of “running the world.” I thought you meant literally the leaders of nations, but you meant setting the social conventions of society at large.
Yes, I meant the latter.
There was a recent Australian study that found a link between BPAs and autism, although I find it hard to believe there’s a 1-to-1 link, as autism was a thing before plastics were invented.
NTs aren’t running the world. Workaholic sociopaths are running the world.
NDs are becoming more and more socially accepted, and less willing to subjugate themselves. “Neurodivergent” seems to be a misnomer: NTs only seem to be “typical” when NDs closet themselves and try to emulate them.
*shrugs* I’m not as up-to-date on ND research, so your stance about ND/NT possibly being a misnomer is new to me. The first part is a good point though.