Understanding Neurodivergence

Why Are So Many People Diagnosed With ADHD and Autism? A Study of 37,000 People Points to a Moving Threshold, Not an Epidemic

Diagnoses of ADHD and autism have more than quadrupled since the 1990s. A 2026 study in JAMA Psychiatry looked at the DNA of 37,000 diagnosed people, year by year. The genetic load of the average diagnosed person has fallen. Here is what that means, and what it does not.