The Washington Post (4/15, Nirappil ) reports that on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report finding that “one in 31 8-year-olds had autism,” according to a CDC survey, “a small increase from previous years.”
The AP (4/15, Stobbe ) reports the previous CDC estimate from 2020 found that one in 36 US children have autism. According to the report, “boys continue to be diagnosed more than girls, and the highest rates are among children who are Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black.” Health officials “largely attribute growing autism numbers to better recognition of cases through wide screening and better diagnosis.”
CNN (4/15, McPhillips ) reports the study is “based on surveillance data from 16 areas that participate in the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. The data are not nationally representative and encompass a different set of sites than the last report with data from 2020, which only captured data from 11 sites.” Improvements in early identification of autism “have been apparent,” the authors of the CDC report wrote, and “differences in the prevalence of children identified with [autism spectrum disorder] across communities might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices.”
Related Links:
— “Autism rates in US rise again to 1 in 31 kids, CDC says,” Mike Strobbe, Associated Press, April 15, 2025