Autism Isn’t New—Our Awareness Is

Let’s begin here:

Autism is not a disease.

It is not a tragedy.

It is not something to prevent, fix, or fear.

It is a natural expression of human diversity.

It is one of many beautiful, complex ways that nervous systems experience the world.

And while we’re clearing things up,

Autism is not linked to vaccines.

What has changed is our awareness, our definitions, and our capacity to see what’s always been there.

Autism isn’t more common now.

It’s just more visible.

Because our definitions have evolved.

Our diagnostic criteria have widened.

And for the first time in a long time, people are actually listening to one another.

Want to know what autism has actually been doing to families?

Opening our eyes.

Challenging old paradigms.

Stretching our compassion.

Expanding our definition of communication, intelligence, and connection.

And yes—enriching our homes in profound, sometimes uncomfortable, deeply meaningful ways.

Still not sure?

Look to the elders in your family.

👉🏽 The quirky uncle who collects banana stickers or knows everything about vintage trains.

👉🏽 The grandfather who’s had the same six hobbies for 60 years—and knows each one with expert precision.

👉🏽 The great-aunt who can’t sleep without her favorite weighted blanket and has always cut the tags off her clothes.

👉🏽 The grandmother who hoards Tupperware lids but panics when asked to donate anything.

👉🏽 The family member who refuses certain textures, foods, or sounds and calls them “just too much.”

👉🏽 The cousin who memorized every capital city or element on the periodic table by age nine.

👉🏽 The one who’s always been called “shy,” “particular,” “odd,” or “obsessed.”

Neurodivergence has always been here.

Autism has always been here.

What we’ve lacked isn’t control.

It’s language.

It’s validation.

It’s space to belong without being molded into something else.

We’re not suddenly “seeing more cases”—

We’re finally expanding our definitions enough to include the people we once left out.

And with that awareness comes liberation.

For the children.

For the adults.

For the elders who were never given words for their truth.

So let’s stop asking how to prevent autism.

Let’s ask how to honor it.

Let’s ask how to adapt the world to meet every kind of brain and body.

Let’s raise children who know their unique wiring is not a problem to solve,

but a gift to be understood.

Autism isn’t a shadow over the family.

It’s a lantern.

One that shows us how to slow down, listen differently, and love more fully.

May we keep learning.

Keep widening the lens.

And keep holding space for every expression of what it means to be fully, wildly, wonderfully human.