Episode Details

Heather McKean and Kent McKean dive into the explosive rise in autism and other neurodivergences—not to assign blame or “cure” identity, but to ask better questions about what today’s physical, emotional, and cultural environments are doing to developing brains. They unpack historical data, presentism, and labels; reframe “maladaptive” patterns as survival adaptations (and sometimes superpowers); and outline a Mind Change path focused on nervous-system safety, subconscious rewiring, and family-wide healing—keeping uniqueness while relieving unnecessary suffering. 

What we covered in this episode:

📈 Autism rates skyrocketed from 1 in 5,000 kids to 1 in 30 in two generations

🧬 Why genes alone can’t explain the surge—environment & culture play a bigger role

🏫 How schooling, screens, toxins & stress reshape developing brains

💡 Autism as adaptation & survival strategy, not defect

🧠 Trauma’s imprint—how it rewires biology and passes through generations

👩‍👩‍👧 Parental stress and healing: why when parents shift, kids shift too

🔖 Labels can help—but they can also limit growth

🌍 The autism explosion as a mirror of our wider cultural crisis

👉 Full resources, courses & community: mindchange.com

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