Autism Prevalence: Study Shows 1 In 88 Kids Has The Condition

One in 88 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, representing a 23 percent increase in prevalence from the previous autism report, released in 2009, which estimated that autism affected one in 110 children.

The new CDC report revealed that 11.3 of every 1,000 8-year-olds has an autism spectrum disorder. The condition is nearly five times higher among boys than girls, the report showed. Of note, some states have higher prevalences of children with autism -- for example, in Alabama, one in 210 children have the condition, compared with one in 47 in Utah.

The researchers also found that diagnosis of autism by age 3 is increasing, with 18 percent of kids born in 2000 being diagnosed by that age, compared with 12 percent of kids born in 1994, the report said.

"This information paints a picture of the magnitude of the condition across our country and helps us understand how communities identify children with autism," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. "That is why HHS and our entire administration has been working hard to improve the lives of people living with autism spectrum disorders and their families by improving research, support, and services."

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning one person with the condition may have milder symptoms, while another person may have more serious symptoms, according to the National Institutes of Health. Those symptoms include problems with communication and social cues, and they may also engage in repetitive behaviors. There is no known cause of autism, though experts say it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Autism symptoms typically begin to show before age 3, according to the NIH.

Reuters reported that the current autism rate is double that of 2002.

However, the researchers noted that the findings don't necessarily mean more children are developing autism. Rather, the increase might reflect increased diagnosis of the condition.

The Associated Press reported that autism can be detected as young as 14 months, and screening for the condition can begin as young as 18 months. However, many kids in the U.S. aren't diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder until reaching the age of 4 1/2.

Preliminary research shows that autism is diagnosed up to one-and-a-half years later in minority children, the Associated Press reported.

The CDC study comes out around the same time as a report from advocacy organization Autism Speaks, showing that autism costs $137 billion or more to U.S. society.

"Autism is a global public health crisis. The costs are staggering and will continue to rise as prevalence continues to increase," Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, said in a statement. "We know that early diagnosis and treatment are critical, so it is imperative that the U.S. and governments around the world step up their commitment to helping people living with autism today. The investment we make now is essential to reducing the long-term costs of autism."

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Comments

[breannern]

01:15 PM on 01/19/2013

If this is a gut related issue, don't forget our franken food industry... We consume, and our children consume a gut-load of over-processed crap full of sugars and geneticly modified crops made to be "round-up ready", as do the pregnant mothers. These foods have been implicated in irritable bowel and other digestive problems, and inflammation in the intestines. If you are what you eat, then this is a possible legitimate cause, and one you can do something about. Check out leaky gut syndrome, and the fact that we not only eat gmo'd food, but also the round-up chemical they were treated with. Crops treated with roundup do have residual chemicals, and also, are nutritionally inferior, as round-up binds with essential minerals in the soil, making them unavailable to the plant, and thus lacking in our food.

[humaneisfact]

10:19 PM on 06/03/2012

what happens when all babies are born with autism?

[The Ghost of Awesome]

07:00 AM on 06/15/2012

NTs stop being bigoted towards us and stop saying that we are autistic instead of 'have' autism?

[AGreenRoad]

10:55 AM on 05/22/2012

Dr. Russell Blaylock MD Discusses Vaccine Dangers; via A Green Road Blog http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-russell-blaylock-md-discusses.html

Dr. Maurice Hilleman Admits Vaccines Contaminated; Viral Cancer, Leukemia, AIDS, Etc
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-maurice-hilleman-admits-vaccines.html

Dr. Viera Scheibner PhD - Vaccination, The Hidden Truth; via A Green Road Blog
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-viera-scheibner-phd-vaccination.html

[sdtech]

07:05 AM on 04/06/2012

Mercury in vaccines in 2000----187 micrograms:

“Based on information from vaccine manufacturers provided to the FDA, the lots of vaccine manufactured before this time that contained thimerosal as a preservative and had been released to the market had expiration dates in 2002 (FDA, 2004). Based on these changes, the maximum amount of mercury from vaccines on the recommended childhood immunization schedule that an infant (less than 6 months of age) can now be exposed to is less than 3 μg, down from 187.5 μg in 1999 (FDA, 2001, 2004).” http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10997&page=5


Estimated autism prevalence rate ratio, birth year of 2000----one in 88:

The Centers for Disease Control one in 88 rate ratio of estimated prevalence of autism reported is for the year of 2008 for eight year olds for children born in the year 2000. These children are now twelve years old. See http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html


Mercury in flu vaccine in 2012----over 90 million doses:

Over 90 million doses of thimerosal preserved flu vaccine (each containing around 25 micrograms of mercury by weight), with mercury equal to one half cup of D009 mercury hazardous waste, is approved for injection into children and pregnant women. See http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaxsupply.htm

[Heather XW]

08:00 PM on 04/06/2012

Thank you for the truth!

[Heywood Merton]

01:24 PM on 04/09/2012

"with mercury equal to one half cup of D009 mercury hazardous waste"

Ah, yes, the tedious repetition compulsion of pro-disease hobbyists is duly noted. How many times do you think you've had this one explained to you by now, sd? Right. You simply don't care whether you are stating something sensible. The only goal is to manufacture the SKAR-EEY.

[sdtech]

11:26 PM on 04/09/2012

The CDC recalls toys with Lead (Pb) and they should recall vaccines with Mercury (Hg). Both Lead and Mercury are heavy metals and they both kill brain cells.

[John Richard Smith]

02:13 AM on 04/03/2012

There is some debate surrounding autism on whether we are seeing a true phenomenon or not. Whatever way the reader may think ...the underlying question is what to do ?

At this time the focus still needs to be the very real services and medical treatment these children may or may need according to the severity of their condition.

Specific research attention needs to be focused on the actual physiology of ASD children and it's relationship to outcome. Some children follow a "genetic' pathway to the disorder that may need a specific intervention. Others a mixture of genetic susceptability and environment , which appears to be reflected in my own personal experience as a father of an ASD boy.
Therefore in his case, the amelioration of immune system dysfunction may be an important research pathway for my son to gain a better quality of life.

At this time there seems to be some confusion on where to head and with the best interests of the child in mind.

With this in mind it would be a way to move forward if ASD parents, caregivers and children have the opportunity to access thoughtful, professional healthcare advice that is based on what the actual child that stands in front of them presents, rather than the broad generalisations that are presented by some practitioners.

[John Richard Smith]

10:55 AM on 04/04/2012

Interestingly the one consistent finding of the Cochrane Review when exploring GI Issues and Autism found was "intestinal lymphonodular hyperplasia."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21297509

Whether it is part of the etiology or pathology of Autism has yet to be elucidated, though the continuing research does appear to establish quite clearly a connection to some aspects of ASD pathology. One could think of some "types" of autism as a continuum of an immune system disease or disorder thus varying environmental "influences" may have both positive and negative consequences on the pathway ASD takes.

It is now imperative that those types of issues are taken objectively when those children present at paediatric services.Little doubt then remains now of the importance of parental observation and experience when it comes to their children.

Perhaps a few more pennies could be forthcoming to support parents in having their experiences heard.

[N0NDescript0]

02:34 PM on 04/04/2012

"Whether it is part of the etiology or pathology of Autism has yet to be elucidated..."

Lymphoid masses are never part of the etiology of a disease. They are always a symptom of a disease. Read the definition provided by this Nature article:

"Lymphonodular hyperplastic lesions are lymphoid-tissue masses of unknown etiology..."

http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/journal/v3/n11/full/ncpgasthep0585.html

Perhaps it's time you start learning more about biology, and stop writing B.S. about "unknowns" which are completely ridiculous and unfounded?!?!

[N0NDescript0]

02:36 PM on 04/04/2012

"One could think of some "types" of autism as a continuum of an immune system disease or disorder thus varying environmental "influences" may have both positive and negative consequences on the pathway ASD takes."

Is there ANY evidence that the immune system is somehow "responsible" for autism? While this is a serious question, I am also inclined to think that this is just more B.S. speculation about things that you don't understand, and therefore can't make any intelligent comments on.

[N0NDescript0]

03:18 PM on 04/04/2012

It's unfortunate that this entire statement is a misrepresentation of the facts, and a conflation of the actual problems and discussions at hand.

"Whatever way the reader may think ...the underlying question is what to do ?

At this time the focus still needs to be the very real services and medical treatment these children may or may need according to the severity of their condition."

Both statement are true, unfortunately JRS implies that they are mutually exclusive. That could not be further from the truth. You can not make intelligent and ethical medical or scientific decisions based on speculation and possibly false data. While these are two separate questions, one scientific and the other medical, they are can not and should not be separated, if we hope to improve our knowledge of ASD and the treatment options available.

"Some children follow a "genetic' pathway to the disorder that may need a specific intervention. Others a mixture of genetic susceptability and environment..."

This is a dishonest delineation, and not supported by the current research. There are always interactions between the host genetics and the host environment, and to suggest that an environment will never effect the host disease pathology is simply naive. There is an argument to be made regarding the etiological roles of genetics vs. environmental factors, but this body of research is distinct from, and should not be extrapolated to disease pathology, particularly by an individual with no scientific or medical training.

[John Richard Smith]

06:23 PM on 04/04/2012

"Both statement are true..."

Yes they are. Your further explanation of my thoughts on this matter unfortunately are not.

"This is a dishonest delineation, and not supported by the current research...."

As always an interesting and confused interpretation of what I said.

[clearnsharp]

02:25 PM on 04/02/2012

Maybe this will shed some light on why there are so many cases of Autism today: 42yrs ago my 2yr old son was displaying signs that were very unusual: he didn't speak many words, he "rocked" back and forth among other things. By 5yrs he couldn't stand changes (he had to use the same utensils with the same design), he couldn't "get" any subtle remarks in conversation, or catch onto body language etc, so we took him to a neurologist and they said there was no brain damage. BUT the only thing they knew about Autism at that time were symptoms displayed by the children with very severe Autism. They new nothing about Aspberger's Syndrome and weren't diagnosing it at the time. His teacher in grade school said my son was the only child she had seen in all her years of teaching who had his behavior. He was also bullied and ridiculed by other children. It was hearbreaking. So we have two things to look at here, 1) It was not prevalent at that time and 2) Doctors were not diagnosing milder forms of Autism such as Aspberger's. This explains part of why there are so many more cases today. Many adults with Asperber's had no help and still find life difficult such as being laid off their jobs and finding another one. Enviormental factors may also contribute to the increase in cases today --- certainly more reseach is needed. But I don't agree that it is over-diagnosed.

[BorninCA]

12:08 PM on 04/02/2012

What is really disturbing to me is the fact that there have been many controlled studies, some in Europe and some in the U.S., that show that pesticides may well be the cause of autism. Also, now that they have pretty much determined that the condition begins before the child is born, this also supports the idea that exposure of the mother to these poisons,either through ingestion of food tainted with them or through inhalation transfers the toxic substances to the womb and injures the child as it develops. Why does it always take so long for health issues like this to be dealt with? Could it be that the monied influence of the chemical industry might have something to do with that?

[Dyson]

01:45 PM on 04/03/2012

Have you a link to these "many controlled studies"?

[BorninCA]

12:11 AM on 04/07/2012

No, but you can find them yourself on the internet very easily. Some date back to several years ago including one in San Jose.

[Dyson]

05:50 PM on 04/09/2012

I could only find the San Jose reference in the SJ Mercury 2007 (article not available) suggesting possible organochlorine link and calling for confirmatory research.
Where might that be then?

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

09:12 AM on 04/02/2012

I don't suppose this is a contributing factor.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=118977&CultureCode=en

What experts and the public have already long suspected is now supported by representative data collected by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and University of Basel: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is over-diagnosed.

[Saumya Shrivastava]

07:55 AM on 04/02/2012

http://liveoncampus.com/wire/show/3363501
Here's a video on the Autism Awareness. Today is World Autism Awareness Day. Make yourself aware. Everyone is different, just some are different in different ways....

[Linda from Deerfield]

10:50 PM on 04/01/2012

I grew up in a rural community, not the poorest, but any suburbanite today would have judged us all to be poor. Broken children were very visible -- everybody knew everybody, and there was no hiding. Eventually, I lived among much more affluent people, much more highly educated, and guess what -- I know of far more broken children than there ever were around me in my youth. I have the feeling that something awful is happening. In most cases, I haven't a clue what could have caused it. In one case, the father of the little boy with problems himself has Asperger's, so one is highly tempted to assume that it is hereditary.

[Ascare26]

04:08 AM on 04/02/2012

I think there are two reasons that can explain that- A) we're getting better at detecting it, and B) there are more things possibly in our environment that could be influencing diseases. Anxiety, depression, etc is up because of the different times. Its probably a combo of genetics and environmental change which has caused this huge increase. And now that we are much more aware we can diagnose it much earlier and have better intervention.

[Indiegirl99]

09:01 PM on 04/01/2012

I must admit, this rise terrifies me. In my daughter's grade of 70 students, three are on the spectrum. Years ago we had her in a toddler class in a different town and two out of the twelve kids in the class were eventually diagnosed on the spectrum as well. It seems so prevelant where I live and it doesn't feel like we are any closer to finding a cause than we were 10 years ago. Are there any websites that show the distribution of autism worldwide?

[sdtech]

11:47 PM on 04/01/2012

First, for worldwide here is a link to an older report:

http://www.rescuepost.com/files/gr-autism_and_vaccines_world_special_report1.pdf


Second, for the US, here are data from the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).


The newest is for the school year beginning in the Fall of 2010. Download the 2010 (csv) file and view it in excel spreadsheet.


See http://www.ideadata.org/PartBChildCount.asp

Finally, again for the US, go to the CDC site at The Centers for Disease Control one in 88 autism rate reported is for the year of 2008 for eight year olds for children born in the year 2000. These children are now twelve years old.

See http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

[Indiegirl99]

12:47 AM on 04/02/2012

Thank you for the links, especially the first. That is exactly what I was looking for and was unable to find through Google. Very, very interesting stuff. I can see why the vaccine debate still rages on. Why are we getting so many vaccines compared to other countries?

[AutismNewsBeat]

11:13 PM on 04/10/2012

Rescue Post? Rescue, as in "Jenny McCarthy's Generation Rescue?"

[Anil Minocha]

07:01 PM on 04/01/2012

The exponential rise in autism is alarming. The current CDC study does appear to put to rest some opinions questioning whether the increase in prevelance is actually real. Cynics will continue to doubt.

Inability to explain the rising tide of autism based on what we know thus far suggests that some as yet unidentified factor/s may be at play. Or perhaps we are not looking at the picture correctly. It is interesting that most of the money spent on autism research has been spent on exploring genetic factors while only a small fraction has focussed on environmental issues.

Theories on causation of autism abound. In this context, please allow me to present my hypothesis which is based on indirect circumstantial evidence only.

The major question is whether changes in brain morphology and function of autism are primary or secondary? My hypothesis implicates gastrointestinal system alterations as potential factors underlying rising autism. A disordered gastrointestinal system e.g. permeability, altered digestive genes and micronutrient malabsorption, gut associated immune system, gut bacteria, enteric nervous system may affect the central nervous system.

Invoking the gut at the core of the disorder may provide a unifying framework for explaining autism and its multiple diverse manifestations. The range of presentations of autism may vary based on the qualitative and quantitative differences of the digestive factors involved. Only time will tell whether I am right.
http://wp.me/p1WoF9-19

[Yankeegirl1]

03:00 PM on 04/02/2012

Dr. Martha Herbert a Harvard University neurologist and autism researcher who recently wrote a book called "The Autism Revolution" said the brain's of children with autism are structurally normal ("not malformed") but the brain is irritated. She said kids can improve. She said the inflammation in the brain needs to be calmed (she says "calm the chaos"). So it seems that if the inflammation can be addressed then ut could help our children function better. Dr. Herbert was interviewed today for a story called "Can Autism be Reversed" (see link) on Fox news where she talks about brain inflammation.

"Can Autism be Reversed?" - Dr. Martha Herbert interviewed

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1542765826001/can-autism-be-reversed/?playlist_id=87485

[3520]

09:51 PM on 04/02/2012

Sounds like magical thinking.

[AutismNewsBeat]

11:14 PM on 04/10/2012

Anil, do you know what "exponential" means? It appears not.

[John Richard Smith]

09:17 PM on 03/31/2012

Approx 2,000,000 male children were born in the US in 2000.

1 in 54 were diagnosed according to the CDC using passive surveillance methodology. The prevalence may be considerably higher using active surveillance methodology.

37, 037 children in one year alone ... very sobering figures indeed.

What other serious health outcomes for children need to be actively investigated, researched and reported ?

[Heather XW]

10:12 PM on 03/31/2012

Oh! Didn't you hear? That's just a false signal, nothing to worry about.....

[sdtech]

10:19 PM on 03/31/2012

One could imagine this situation as a dialog on the Titanic where the first mate reports an iceberg to the captain and his response is to first inquire as to whether it is a glacier berg, a tablular berg, a bergy bit, or a growler and then assign staff resources to study the iceberg since it is so close.

How can we work on getting replacements of the CDC and FDA directors that will overhaul the entire organizations?

See

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/05/AR2010010503664.html

[Heather XW]

10:56 PM on 03/31/2012

bingo

[sdtech]

06:57 PM on 03/31/2012

"The lifetime per capita incremental societal cost of autism is $3.2 million." http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/161/4/343

Take that amount times roughly four million children born in the US each year and this adds a lifetime care cost of an additional $121 billion dollars, each year ,for these babies though their lifetime.

Our President should fire every person in the federal government that takes a dime from the pharmaceutical companies and ban former government officials from working for the vaccine manufacturers. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Gerberding

Our Congress should reverse the law that gave immunity to the vaccine manufacturers. See http://autismactionnetwork.org/immunity_legislation.html

[rikadarling]

08:37 PM on 03/31/2012

Well said.

[Sharon Hanson]

01:15 PM on 04/01/2012

Agreed.

[Ascare26]

04:11 AM on 04/02/2012

Agreed. Not to mention the fact that often these children suffer from seizures, major dental problems (due to not being able to stay still), speech therapy, and other major health issues. People think autism is just the one diagnosis- when it can really be so much more.

[chieromancer]

06:11 PM on 03/31/2012

If one in 88 children were dying from something, those in the power to do something about it would move heaven and earth to find out the cause.

[John Richard Smith]

06:47 PM on 03/31/2012

Unfortunately you are closer to a "truth" than you may know. It is believed , yet to be confirmed that ASD individuals are at a higher risk of co-morbid serious psychiatric conditions such as depression.

According to the British Medical Journal Best Practice ...

"In people aged 18 to 44 years, depression is the leading cause of disability and premature death. Depression is predicted to be the second leading cause of disability in people of all ages by the year 2020."

Not only that, the years of high anxiety and stress that ASD children are feeling must take its toll on their overall health.

There is also the very serious impacts that are felt by parents , carers and other family members. Particularly with children that are more profoundly effected.

[sabelmouse]

08:20 AM on 04/02/2012

high anxiety and stress aren't good for ones health. i keep wondering where mine came from.
the idea that there might be a connection to vaccines makes me quite irate. 21 years od ocd and other anxiety issues have not improved my life or my children's.

[sabelmouse]

08:18 AM on 04/02/2012

one hopes !