March 24, 2023 – The upward trend within the variety of autism diagnoses in children continues: According to newly released data from the CDC, one in 36 8-year-olds within the United States was diagnosed with the disorder in 2020.
This is up from 1 in 44 for 8-year-olds in 2018 and 1 in 88 in 2008.
The data come from a sample of 11 American communities and discuss with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders, that are characterised by developmental delays and behavioral, communication, interaction, and learning styles that differ from those of most individuals. The term “spectrum” refers back to the broad range of symptoms.
Autism is usually a lifelong disorder that begins before the age of three and sometimes shows symptoms before the age of twelve months.
Overall, 2.8% of 8-year-old children within the study had an autism diagnosis in 2020. Researchers and out of doors experts said the rise could also be resulting from increased awareness and increased screening.
“I feel like this is just another discovery,” said psychiatry professor Catherine Lord, PhD, at UCLA The New York TimesShe was not involved within the research.
“The question is what happens next with these children and will they get help?” she said.
This latest report A CDC study shows that autism continues to disproportionately affect boys, who're nearly 4 times more more likely to have autism than girls. However, for the primary time, the autism rate in girls exceeded 1% (greater than 1 in 100 girls).
In addition, it was found for the primary time that children of Asian, black or Hispanic origin were more more likely to have autism than white children.
“These changes may be due to improved screening, increased awareness, and improved access to services for historically underserved groups,” the CDC said in a Press release.
The CDC also reported that the variety of autism screenings amongst four-year-olds has declined through the pandemic.
“Pandemic-related disruptions in the timely assessment of children and delays in getting children the services and supports they need could have long-term implications,” Karen Remley, MD, MPH, director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a press release.
The advocacy group Autism Speaks reacted to the CDC report, noting that the impact of a pandemic could have led to limited data collection and that the report may subsequently underestimate the true prevalence of autism.
The causes of autism are still unclear. Some individuals with autism could have a genetic disorder. The leading theory is that “there are multiple causes for [autism spectrum disorder] which together change the most common ways of human development,” says CDC.
Although the disorder is usually diagnosed in early childhood, the issues related to it turn out to be more apparent as development progresses.
“As children with ASD grow into adolescents and young adults, they may have difficulty making and maintaining friendships, communicating with peers and adults, or understanding what behavior is expected at school or in the workplace,” the CDC explains. “They may come to the attention of health care providers because they also have conditions such as anxiety, depression, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which are more common in people with ASD than in people without ASD.”