Orange County’s Eight-Fold Increase In Autism Rates Stems From Diagnostic Shift, Report Finds
Researchers suggest children who once were categorized as having one type of developmental disability are now being shifted into the autism or ADHD category as a result of better diagnosis.
KPCC:
New Report Explains OC's Dramatic Rise In Autism Diagnoses
Orange County has the highest number and rate of children with autism in the state but a new report released Tuesday by Chapman University suggests the eight-fold increase over the last 15 years might be related to how psychologists are diagnosing the developmental disability. (Aguilar, 5/3)
In other public health news —
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Health Officials Confirm First Whooping Cough Death Of 2016
Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, has claimed the life of an infant in Kern County. It’s the first death from whooping cough confirmed in Kern this year, and the first death from the disease in Kern County since 2009, county health officials said in a news release Tuesday. (5/3)