Autism Contains Multitudes (and More)
Five for Friday, April 18, 2025
Steve and I are picking up our son from his college in Vermont today. We’ve done this eight-hour (round-trip) drive a few times now, so we’re ready for it. We will listen to podcasts and find an interesting place to stop for a meal. After a very busy month, I’m looking forward to the downtime.
That’s the latest picture of my boys. Ian turned 23 on Wednesday. His first birthday away from home.
This is Friday, so I’ll hit you with five quick thoughts before we embark on our long trek.
Autism All Around
It’s been an insane autism week, thanks to a new report and a speech.
First, the CDC announced that the autism rate has gone from 1 in 36 to 1 in 31. A big jump in just two years. I wrote a newsletter that explained that this jump in the autism rate was primarily due to changes in diagnostic criteria, parental education, and a greater urgency by the medical community to provide a diagnosis.
Then, RFK Jr. gave a speech saying that autism was an epidemic and a preventable tragedy.
“These are kids who will never pay taxes. They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date,” Kennedy said. “Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. And we have to recognize we are doing this to our children, and we need to put an end to it.”
Some people pushed back against that article, saying that their autistic kids weren’t a tragedy and lived fulfilling lives. Parents of children and adults with severe or profound autism cheered his statement because they feel like their needs have been marginalized by the neurodiversity movement.
As I wrote in my newsletter, autism contains multitudes. Some people with autism and their families have difficult lives. They need more support, recognition, and compassion. I have good friends in that community.
Autism also includes individuals like my son, who struggled with a job interview this week. He applied for a virtual internship at an AI company. They wrote him, “Are you available for an interview on Tuesday at 10:00? If that works for you, please reply.” So, Ian just hit the reply button on the email and sent them a blank email, because the interviewer didn’t say, “Please reply and tell us that you are available.”
My son is capable of earning an A in an advanced computer science class, but does not understand office norms. He may never hold a job, even though he and many other people with autism can thrive on a college campus.
I don’t understand the fight between parents in these different wings of autism. Our children have different needs, but we’re stronger if we work together.
Special Needs Parenting
Some are pro-natalist. I am pro-empty nest-ist.
My autistic kid has been at college for two months, and OMG! This is amazing! No more driving to therapists! No more organizing social activities! The typical kid had constant sports events! Life is great without all that!
I wrote about our vacation from special needs parenting in my autism newsletter.
Related: Rebecca Gale has a great article in Marie Claire about the difficulties of finding childcare for neurodiverse children.
Of course, some parents have bigger challenges than others. Please follow my friend, Catherine Johnson, for insight into parenting a child with profound autism.
The Six-Figure Tuition Club
The full cost of a year at a handful of colleges now exceeds $100,000. After all the incidentals (spring break, overseas internship program, sorority fees) and probably an extra semester or two of classes, that’s nearly half a million dollars to attend college.
Is it worth it? I say no.
Ron Lieber takes aim at Wellesley, which is one of the colleges in the six-figure club.
Luxury Goods Exposed
Luxury goods could triple in price when Trump’s tariffs take effect, because of their multi-national manufacturing.
The tariff wars are exposing certain truths about the luxury industry. Purses, scarves, and shoes, which claim to be European craftsmanship, are primarily made in China with some finishing in France or Italy. One purse could be hit with tariffs from both China and France.
The Hermes Birkin bag has long been a symbol of excessive wealth. The purse starts at $10,000 and goes much higher. How much will they raise prices? Do we care?
The Real Housewives of Outer Space
Speaking of excessive purses, the Kardashians gave Lauren Sanchez a $7,000 purse to commemorate her trip to space on the Blue Origin “mission.” It’s a jewel-encrusted UFO purse. Lovely!
Sanchez and her crew of rich, botoxed cougars dashed into space for an 11-minute jaunt. An army of publicists pushed articles on People magazine and more.
The reaction from the public? Revulsion. We want authentic female astronauts, not Katy Perry. Fun rant by Meghan McCain.
Read more
The Rising Rates of Autism
Twenty years ago, back when my son’s speech delay became obvious, the school district sent us to a neurologist to see if he had autism. She watched him do a couple of wooden puzzles and asked him some questions. Her answer was, “Probably not.” The whole visit lasted about 15 minutes.
