*Children from Native American and African American communities are most affected.
By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Rates of childhood autism are at their highest level since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking the disorder in 2000, data released by the agency showed.
The authors of the Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network study and the The CDC's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ADDM) program said the increase likely reflects improvements in the diagnosis and identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not an increase in the number of children who actually have autism.
Using a new surveillance method, researchers found that 2.3 percent of 8-year-olds in communities in 11 states were diagnosed with autism in 2018, up from 1.9 percent in 2016.
A separate report on early identification in 4-year-olds shows that children born in 2014 were 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism or receive an ASD special education classification than children born in 2010, showing an improvement in early diagnosis.
Taken together, the data suggest that efforts to raise awareness about autism are working, although the researchers were quick to say that much work remains to be done.
According to the results of the study conducted by the CDC, in 2018, across the 11 sites sampled, the prevalence of ASD per 1,000 8-year-olds ranged from 16.5 in Missouri, while that number was more than double in California at 38.9.
ASD affects more boys than girls, as for every 1,000 children aged 8 years - one in 44 - the condition was 4.2 times more prevalent in this sector.
The overall prevalence of ASD was similar across all racial and ethnic groups, except that American Indian/Alaska Native children had a higher prevalence of ASD than non-Hispanic Caucasian children - 29.0 versus 21.2 per 1,000 8-year-olds.
In several sites, Hispanic children had a lower prevalence of ASD than Caucasian children - Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, and Utah - and African-American children - Georgia and Minnesota.
Associations between ASD prevalence and median household income at the neighborhood level varied by site.
Among the 5,058 children who met the case definition for ASD, 75.8 percent had a diagnosis on an evaluation, 18.8 percent had an ASD special education classification or eligibility, and no statement of diagnosis for that condition.
The prevalence of ASD per 1,000 8-year-olds based solely on documented ASD diagnostic statements was 17.4 overall ?range: 11.2 in Maryland to 29.9 in California.
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