Autism Numbers vs. the Noise

Logosofia no Dia a Dia · Apr 25, 2026 · 25m

The headlines say autism is exploding. The data tells a more complicated story. This episode cuts through the panic to examine the actual research: how autism went from a 1-in-1,400 diagnosis in 1980 to 1-in-31 today. We trace the diagnostic history from Kanner and Asperger through five editions of the DSM, break down what diagnostic substitution really means, and explore why prevalence varies 10x within the same country. We also cover the Wakefield fraud, what global meta-analyses reveal about detection vs. biology, and why the honest answer is that most of the increase is diagnostic…