Forty years ago, an autistic child was so handicapped he was unreachable...totally disconnected from the world around him.
These kids might have some symptoms of autism, but they are not autistic IMHO.
Forty years ago everywhere I went there were kids, and oly kids, I might add.
Plus, we often visited extended family and we went to school with lots of keds with big families.
I never saw nor knew of kids with the behaviors of the keds I see now. I can count sis keds off the bat of close relatives, neighbors and acquaintences who have serious behavior problems associated with autism.
It is new and it is epidemic.
Most are probably nothing more than ill-disciplined and badly behaved.