New CDC report estimates 1 in 88 children have an ASD

March 29, 2012
By Autism Society

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest report that states 1 in every 88 U.S. children has autism. This affirms what we have already observed through the Autism Society’s national network.  The population of individuals with autism in the United States is continuing to rise.

The report was conducted by the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network in 14 sites in 2008 and tracks prevalence in children 8 years of age. The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is a group of programs funded by CDC to determine the number of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the United States.

“The increasing rate of autism incidence should serve as an urgent call to action to address the most critical issue facing individuals with autism and their families right now:  lack of access to affordable and appropriate services,” said Jim Ball, Autism Society Board Chairman.

This report presents a number of other important details, including:

• More children were diagnosed at earlier ages – a growing number of them by 3 years old. However, most children still were not diagnosed until after age 4. Diagnosis was particularly much later for children with Asperger’s Syndrome.
• As reflected in previous reports, almost five times as many boys were identified with ASDs as girls; 1 in 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls.
• The largest increases over time were among Hispanic and Black children. It is suspected some of this is due to better screening and diagnosis, yet this only explains part of the increase, according to the CDC.
• The majority (62 percent) of children identified as having ASDs did not have intellectual disability. 

The CDC concludes that more children than ever are being diagnosed with ASDs. These children are not being diagnosed as early as they could be.

Read the report Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008.