Just as an aside to the main discussion, I've never believed that the exponential growth in autism could be laid at the feet of "older parents". I think it's a dodge.
What people forget is that couples having just a small number of children while they're young is just as historically unusual as couples having just a small number of children when they're older.
Historically, people used to have larger numbers of kids, and even though the older kids were born when the parents were younger, the later kids were often born when both mom and dad had become "older parents". (One set of my grandparents, and all of my great-grandparents, started their families when they were young - but they all had their LAST kids when they were pushing, or even over, 40 years of age.) Yes, some people died young, but others, including women, would have lived long enough to have their later kids when they were older. If "older parents" were the sole or even primary cause of autism, then we'd have folk knowledge about how the youngest children in large families are "different" and have autistic traits. We have no such folk knowledge.
IMO blaming the rise in autism on "older parents" is just another excuse to avoid looking for environmental causes.
no subject
Just as an aside to the main discussion, I've never believed that the exponential growth in autism could be laid at the feet of "older parents". I think it's a dodge.
What people forget is that couples having just a small number of children while they're young is just as historically unusual as couples having just a small number of children when they're older.
Historically, people used to have larger numbers of kids, and even though the older kids were born when the parents were younger, the later kids were often born when both mom and dad had become "older parents". (One set of my grandparents, and all of my great-grandparents, started their families when they were young - but they all had their LAST kids when they were pushing, or even over, 40 years of age.) Yes, some people died young, but others, including women, would have lived long enough to have their later kids when they were older. If "older parents" were the sole or even primary cause of autism, then we'd have folk knowledge about how the youngest children in large families are "different" and have autistic traits. We have no such folk knowledge.
IMO blaming the rise in autism on "older parents" is just another excuse to avoid looking for environmental causes.
(Steps off soap box.)