Autism Rates Have Increased, But Experts Attribute It To Better Diagnosis Practices For Minority Children
About 1 in 59 U.S. children were identified as having autism in 2014. The report also found that white children are diagnosed with autism more often than black or Hispanic children, but the gap has closed dramatically.
Los Angeles Times:
Here's Why The Apparent Increase In Autism Spectrum Disorders May Be Good For U.S. Children
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. That's up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data come from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. ADDM researchers pore over medical reports from pediatric clinics, neurologists, child psychologists, speech pathologists and physical therapists, as well as records of special education services provided through public schools. (Kaplan, 4/26)