Autism rate jumps to 1 in 50

 

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

CDC and HRSA issue report on changes in prevalence of parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in school-aged children

Who
CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and the Health Resources and Services Administration
What
“Changes in Prevalence of Parent-Reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-Aged Children: 2007 to 2011-2012.”
The report was co-authored by HRSA and data collection was conducted by the CDC. The data come from the National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative phone survey of households with children. This survey is conducted every four years.
Main findings of the report:
The prevalence of parent-reported ASD among children aged 6-17 years was 2 percent in 2011-2012 compared to 1.2 percent in 2007.

The change in prevalence estimates was greatest for boys and for adolescents aged 14 to 17 years.
Children who were first diagnosed in or after 2008 were more likely to have milder ASD than those diagnosed in or before 2007.
Much of the increase in the prevalence estimates from 2007 to 2011-2012 for school-aged children was the result of diagnoses of children with previously unrecognized ASD.
The report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.