Startling New Numbers: Study Reports Autism Prevalence Up 30% from 2012

Another study, another conclusion and it seems we are no closer to providing solutions for families. For those of us living with autism, we know that the number of children being diagnosed is increasing because more kids have autism, and because the tools for properly identifying this complex disease are improving. As the tools improve children who were previously diagnosed with other illness now have a more accurate diagnosis of autism. So what we have is reclassification, a shuffling of sorts that brings the real picture into focus.  

Temple Grandin

(CNN)On the surface, it looks like the number of children in the United States whose parents say they have autism spectrum disorder has grown significantly. But this latest study from the National Center for Health Statistics begs a bigger question: Are there really more children with autism, or did the way in which the United States collects that information affect the reportable number?  http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/health/autism-numbers-inflation/

This latest study looks at data collected in 2014. When they gathered that information, the survey that they gave parents took a new approach to asking about autism and changed the order of the questions. With that switch, the number of children believed to be on the spectrum is 2.24% -- that's 1 in 45 children. That's a large increase. 

Study authors wondered whether the changing survey method has had an effect on the numbers; that's because the number of children who parents say have another developmental disorder went down significantly. That number fell from 4.84% in 2001-2013 to 3.57% based on 2014 data. That could mean, the authors say, that parents were selecting autism as opposed to another developmental disorder in part because the question about autism comes before questions about those other disorders.