CDC Updates Rate of Autism

CDC estimates 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Track your child’s development and act early if you have a concern.

More children than ever before are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Like the many families living with ASDs, CDC considers ASDs an important public health concern.

CDC is committed to continuing to provide essential data on ASDs, search for risk factors and causes, and develop resources that help identify children with ASDs as early as possible.

Tracking the Number of Children Identified with Autism Spectrum Disorders

CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has been tracking ASDs for over a decade through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. The newest estimates from the ADDM Network are based on data collected in 14 areas of the United States during 2008. These 14 communities comprised over eight percent of the United States population of 8-year-olds in 2008. Information was collected on children who were 8 years old because previous work has shown that, by this age, most children with ASDs have been identified for services.

CDC estimates 1 in 88 children (11.3 per 1,000) has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Read the entire article here.

Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
By: Office of the Associate Director for Communication, Division of News and Electronic Media
URL for this page: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/
From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 29, 2012