In the United States, the number of cases of children with autism continues to rise, according to a new report released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the report, the latest data estimate shows that 1 in 88 American children have some form of autism spectrum disorder. The estimate is a 78 percent increase compared to a decade ago. Since 2000, the CDC continually bases its autism estimates on surveillance reports from its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Every two years in roughly a dozen communities around the nation, researchers count how many 8-year-olds have autism.
In 2000 and 2002, the estimate of autism was 1 in 150 children. In 2004, the estimate found 1 in 125 8-year-olds had autism. Two years later, the estimate was 1 in 110, and the newest data from 2008 shows 1 in 88 children have autism. Mark Roithmayr, the president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said the numbers illustrate an epidemic of autism in the United States. Roithmayr says that more children continue to get diagnosed with autism because of “better diagnosis, broader diagnosis, better awareness, and roughly 50% of ‘We don’t know.’” Parents should reportedly begin looking for signs of autism in their children as early as 6-months-old.
