Can't lie, the AUTISM ANNOUNCEMENT has been used probably 100+ times in my friend group since it came out. Its just such a perfect organic little meme.

Also, regarding the Spongebob one. My brother was diagnosed with "high functioning autism" like 25 years ago, the kind where he isn't really broken in any way beyond just being fucking weird. No savant skills, just an ability to single mindedly focus on a single thing forever without remembering the world exists (he would play level 1 of a game, finish it, then reset to play it again, for the entire month). So just an awkward but functional guy, likely a pretty good example of 80% of autists in their youth.

His father, a standard "hard work and a heavy belt" traditional man, just refused to indulge that anything was wrong with him (unlike our mother who had him in special ed classes) and raised him like a normal kid that needed extra discipline. Forced him outside, made him work before getting any hobby time, constantly bringing him into social situations.

Magically, as an adult, he is still fucking weird but is completely capable and functional. His autism is still just him being able to do the same thing forever without getting bored (and still going to competitive Melee tournaments as a Ganondorf main), but he works, dates, and is completely successful like any other young man. You'd just think he was an odd guy with nothing actually wrong with him if you met him.

Point of this long overshare is that the majority of autists are completely fixable with proper rearing, because there is nothing super mentally wrong with them that can't be overcome with discipline and personality. If we assume autism existed forever (and isn't a modern creation from our diets and environment), then that probably curbed most of it every generation. And now instead we indulge and baby them, depriving them of the necessary skills to overcome their oddities and give them an excuse to blame it on. So they get worse until they are stuck in their ways as an adult.