The New York Times (3/23, Anthes) reports, “The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) in US “children rose between 2018 and 2020, continuing a long-running trend, according to a” CDC study published online March 24 in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study revealed that “in 2020, an estimated one in 36 eight-year-olds had autism, up from one in 44 in 2018,” with rates appearing to rise faster for Black and Hispanic youngsters than for white children. What’s more, “an accompanying study, also published on” March 24, indicates that “the pandemic may have disrupted or delayed the detection of autism in younger children.” The findings from both studies “are based on data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which has used health and education records to track autism in communities across the United States since 2000.”
The AP (3/23, Slevin, Bedayn) reports, “To estimate how common autism is, the CDC checks health and school records in 11 states and focuses on eight-year-olds, because most cases are diagnosed by that age.” While “other researchers have their own estimates…experts say the CDC’s estimate is the most rigorous and is considered the gold standard.”
According to Reuters (3/23, Steenhuysen), the second study “focused on early intervention, researchers compared the rates of autism identification of four-year-olds in 2020 to what eight-year-olds had received four years earlier.” The study found that “during the first three months of 2020, four-year-olds were getting many more evaluations and services for autism,” but “when the pandemic hit in March 2020, ‘there was a very striking drop-off in those autism identification services being received,’ study author Kelly Shaw of the CDC said in an interview.”
Also covering the story are Healio (3/23, Weldon) and HealthDay (3/23, Murez).
Related Links:
— “Autism Prevalence Rises Again, Study Finds “Emily Anthes, The New York Times, March 23, 2023