There are as many Autistic people as there have always been. The only thing is that we have become better at screening and categorizing them.
There has always been that person who was all about trains, and could tell you anything about any train from memory. There have always been "Lennys" who have been caught up in the prison system or worse. Now we just know that they are/were autistic.
Trump Administration Ignored Advice>
That's every day that ends in a "y".