Holding up a Mirror: Intergenerational Interactions and Late Life Autism Diagnosis

Have you ever had the experience of being exposed to something new, only to suddenly see it everywhere? It is known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, or frequency illusion, a cognitive bias where you become aware of something you did not previously see or understand (Rich & Macguire, Citation2020). But what does this have to do with autism diagnosis in later life? Physiological disorders, diseases or conditions will often be considered for their hereditability. We harness the knowledge of those who have come before us in our family lineage, including their symptoms, diagnoses, prognoses, and health outcomes, to understand our own health risks and possibilities. In this way, once a condition is recognised in one family member, the traits and experiences of others within the family may suddenly come into focus, leading to a cascade of new diagnoses or insights that were previously overlooked. That accumulated knowledge helps us look forward and to provide better or more timely diagnosis and interventions, or indeed to prevent some conditions from even occurring.