In history you read about elves, fairies, little people, spirits. It was an accepted part of reality.
But now that’s obvious nonsense and if you see fairies then you need a doctor.
Are we insane now?
Yes I know, nutrition, literacy and the scientific enlightenment. But still.
In addition to the poor treatment of autistic and other neurodivergent folks, note that there was a huge uptick in a lot of fantasy folk tales ri_ht around the same time people started using gas lamps in their homes.