The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that 1 in 31 U.S. kids has autism. This is yet another increase in a long line of increases.
Data from the CDC was collected in 2022 for 14 states plus Puerto Rico. Previous estimates- from 2020- were 1 in 36.
The highest rates of diagnosis are found amongst children of African descent, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black ethnicity.
The CDC used 8-year-olds’ health and school records to estimate the prevalence of autism, as most cases are diagnosed at that age. Although other researchers have made estimates, experts believe that the CDC estimate is the most accurate and the gold standard.
Here’s everything you need to understand about the new statistics and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan for a “massive research and testing effort” on autism.
Autism is a developmental disability that results from differences in the brain. Many of the symptoms are similar to those associated with other diagnoses. These symptoms can include social and emotional withdrawal, delays in learning and language, and an abnormal need for routine.
For many decades, this diagnosis was only given to children with severe communication or social problems and who displayed unusual, repetitive behavior.
In the early 1990s, only one in 10,000 children was diagnosed with autism. Around this time, the term autism spectrum disorder became a shorthand to describe a grouping of milder conditions. The number of children diagnosed with some form of Autism began to increase.
In the first decade of this century, it rose to 1 in 150. In 2018, the estimate was 1 in 45. By 2020, the number reached 1 in 36.
The increase in autism cases is largely attributed to the increased number of cases being detected through better screening and diagnosis.
Autism cannot be diagnosed by blood or biological tests. Autism is diagnosed by judging a child’s behaviour. There has been a boom in services and treatments for children with autism.
Approximately two decades ago, the CDC and other organizations ruled out childhood vaccinations as a possible cause of autism. Since then, research has examined a variety of possible explanations, including genetics and the age and weight of the mother.
Researchers have suggested that it could be a combination of factors- a biological predisposition triggered by a toxic exposure.
Kennedy and antivaccine advocates are fixated on childhood vaccinations. They point to a preservative known as thimerosal, which is no longer used in many childhood vaccines. Or they suggest that autism could be the cumulative result of multiple vaccines. Some studies, some of which were written by CDC authors, have not shown such a link.
Kennedy announced last week that HHS would launch “a massive testing effort and research effort” that will involve hundreds of scientists around the globe and determine what causes autism within six months. He promised that “we will be able to eliminate these exposures.”
Kennedy and Donald Trump both referred back to the 1-in-3 estimate released by the CDC on Tuesday at the White House meeting last week. Kennedy repeated this statistic in a Friday meeting with FDA officials.
Kennedy’s statement followed reports that he had hired David Geier, a man who has repeatedly claimed a link between vaccines and autism, to lead the autism research effort. The hiring of Geier, whom Maryland found was practicing medicine on a child without a doctor’s license, was first reported by The Washington Post.