Maggie's Farm

That would seem oversimple - except I know a dozen friends about my age (I am 72) that fit that profile. Of course, a lot of that is from the Rte 128 Beltway around Boston, and predates IT, but the science nerd principle remains the same.

I am convinced we are increasingly going to talk about two strains of autism, a less-common more serious type that you are describing here that is more Mendelian, driven primarily by a few genes or even a single mutation which dramatically worsen the spectrum effect, and a more-common polygenic type that we are only now gaining insight into, of much higher functioning people.

Older sperm and eggs are more likely to have multiple weaknesses of genes that add up. As the better alleles go down, any mutation that asserts itself is likely to have a larger effect.

You are entirely correct that ASD Level 3 is bitterly hard to deal with - as hard as Downs or full Fragile X. I worked with the low-functioning group in my career, and know high(er) functioning adults who nonetheless show similar symptoms in milder form. In fact, a good percentage of my friends fit that category and a few of my favorite relatives. They are the same and yet different.

I should add that the rush of people finding an excuse for their bad behavior by hiding behind legitimate diagnoses is actually one of the things that interferes with research, as the lines of who is a real one and who is a box-checker for ADHD, anxiety, ASD, and a dozen other diagnoses become blurred, and symptoms impossible to measure.