Gemma Spake

somebody is not doomed because they have ADHD or if they have autism or if they have depression or anxiety or any number of things.

They live beautiful, full lives.

They can do so much, everything that everybody else can.

And so although stigma is not completely eliminated, it has been reduced or replaced as visibility has improved, as services have improved, as

acceptance for people's differences has improved as well.

And what that means is again, as people see themselves represented, as people see that getting a diagnosis is not all doom and gloom, naturally increasing prevalence is going to follow that

through recognition.

And I think that is a really amazing thing.

So that's the first explanation.

The rise in diagnoses that everybody is seeing and worried about is really just this.

It's not that these people were previously fine and now they're not.

It's not that they're faking it.

It's just that these people have perhaps never been okay.

They've previously been missed.

They

Now they are.

And yes, that seemingly is happening all at once.

But when you look at that over the period of time that it should have happened.

So, for example, if you take everybody who is being diagnosed at 12, 15, 27, 47, and you imagine they all got diagnosed at the same age.

you would see that actually rates are not increasing as much as you think.