Earlier quoted context omitted.
That crap bothers me, autism is hip, especially Aspergers. If this continues, soon 50% of the children will have it. Then 10 years later, they'll come up with a new syndrome. Not to say that autism doesn't exist, just saying that, IMO, far too many 'normal' kids are being labeled as autistic.
I think the problem in the end is the narrowing definition of normal behavior. First it was ADD - adolescent boys who were fidgety and distractible now had an illness, previously this was considered normal for young boys - then we decided that people who are not as social, perhaps shy - were now ill as well, whereas before again, this was considered within the definition of normal human behavior.
Not exactly. The problem is that anything outside that narrow definition is seen as "illness".
If you instead see it as a different, but equally valid, way of perceiving the world then the fact that so many people seem to have ASD, ADD or other "D"s makes much more sense.
This is not a matter of politically correct terms - I'm talking about a genuine difference in attitude. ASD is a very broad spectrum. Some people on it really do have an "illness" in the sense that they cannot function independently. Others are just a bit "different" and you may never even know they're not normal unless you happen to see them at their worst. Is it still worth diagnosing those? Generally, yes, because it allows them to get the help they need when they need it or, at least, understand themselves better, so they can help themselves.