It was the language therapist who noticed something was wrong. “She came to our house regularly to help my autistic son learn to speaksays Billie Cochrane, a 30-year-old Scottish woman. But I couldn’t follow his instructions. » The specialist would tell him to use an expressive tone of voice or make big animated gestures to encourage his son. “It was not at all natural for meshe remembers. I ended up asking my sister to send me voice messages, which I imitated. »
One day, the therapist suggested that she see a doctor. He diagnosed them with level 1 autism spectrum disorders, their mildest form. Far from being surprised, the Scot felt immense relief. “I finally understood why I am the way I amshe slips. As a child, I couldn’t stand routine interruptions. I invented homework during the summer holidays, then I broke down in tears just before the start of the school year. »
Billie Cochrane is part of a growing cohort of women and adults recognized as autistic, when the disorder was once thought to be a predominantly male phenomenon discovered in childhood. “The incidence of autism increased by 787% in the UK between 1998 and 2018, from 3,072 to 65,655 new cases per year, says Ginny Russell, a researcher from the University of Exeter, who participated in a study on the subject published in August 2021. The increase was greatest among women and adults. »
“The better-informed general public”
This trend is true outside the UK. In the United States, the prevalence of autism increased from 1 in 150 children to 1 in 44 children between 2000 and 2018. This increase is mainly due to better knowledge of the disease. “General practitioners are more aware of it and therefore recognize it more oftenthis Ginny Russell. Thanks to the activism of associations for the defense of autism and the numerous press articles published on the subject, the general public is also better informed. In case of doubt, parents no longer hesitate to request an evaluation of their child. » In the UK, several personalities, including television presenter Melanie Sykes and model Christine McGuinness, have recently spoken publicly about their autism, discovered in adulthood.
Added to this is an evolution of the very definition of autism, which has been considerably broadened. The fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published in 2013 replaced the term “pervasive developmental disorders”, including autism and Asperger’s syndrome, with a new category called “autism spectrum disorders” comprising four sub-categories. divisions ranging from more to less severe.
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