Large numbers of Americans believe that there is an autism “epidemic”—an enormous increase in the portion of the population that has autism. The reality is much more mundane; the truth is that larger and larger portions of the population are being diagnosed with autism. This distinction is key to understanding the epidemic. The epidemic is artefactual: not real, not about autism actually becoming more common, not about neurological disorders proliferating, etc. etc. etc. (View Highlight)