Health officials: 1 in 50 school kids have autism
NEW YORK (AP) - A government survey of parents says 1 in 50 U.S. schoolchildren has autism, surpassing another federal estimate for the disorder.
Health officials say the new number doesn't mean autism is occurring more often. But it does suggest that doctors are diagnosing autism more frequently, especially in children with milder problems.
The earlier government estimate of 1 in 88 comes from a study that many consider more rigorous. It looks at medical and school records instead of relying on parents.
For decades, autism meant kids with severe language, intellectual and social impairments and unusual, repetitious behaviors. But the definition has gradually expanded and now includes milder, related conditions.
The new estimate released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would mean at least 1 million children have autism.
The number is important - government officials look at how common each illness or disorder is when weighing how to spend limited public health funds.
It's also controversial.
The new statistic comes from a national phone survey of more than 95,000 parents in 2011 and 2012. Less than a quarter of the parents contacted agreed to answer questions, and it's likely that those with autistic kids were more interested than other parents in participating in a survey on children's health, CDC officials said.
Still, CDC officials believe the survey provides a valid snapshot of how many families are affected by autism, said Stephen Blumberg, the CDC report's lead author.
The study that came up with the 1-in-88 estimate had its own limitations. It focused on 14 states, only on children 8 years old, and the data came from 2008. Updated figures based on medical and school records are expected next year.
"We've been underestimating" how common autism is, said Michael Rosanoff of Autism Speaks, an advocacy group. He believes the figure is at least 1 in 50.
There are no blood or biologic tests for autism, so diagnosis is not an exact science. It's identified by making judgments about a child's behavior.
Doctors have been looking for autism at younger and younger ages, and experts have tended to believe most diagnoses are made in children by age 8.
However, the new study found significant proportions of children were diagnosed at older ages.
Dr. Roula Choueiri, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said she's seen that happening at her clinic. Those kids "tend to be the mild ones, who may have had some speech delays, some social difficulties," she wrote in an email. But they have more problems as school becomes more demanding and social situations grow more complex, she added.
Health officials say the new number doesn't mean autism is occurring more often. But it does suggest that doctors are diagnosing autism more frequently, especially in children with milder problems.
The earlier government estimate of 1 in 88 comes from a study that many consider more rigorous. It looks at medical and school records instead of relying on parents.
For decades, autism meant kids with severe language, intellectual and social impairments and unusual, repetitious behaviors. But the definition has gradually expanded and now includes milder, related conditions.
The new estimate released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would mean at least 1 million children have autism.
The number is important - government officials look at how common each illness or disorder is when weighing how to spend limited public health funds.
It's also controversial.
The new statistic comes from a national phone survey of more than 95,000 parents in 2011 and 2012. Less than a quarter of the parents contacted agreed to answer questions, and it's likely that those with autistic kids were more interested than other parents in participating in a survey on children's health, CDC officials said.
Still, CDC officials believe the survey provides a valid snapshot of how many families are affected by autism, said Stephen Blumberg, the CDC report's lead author.
The study that came up with the 1-in-88 estimate had its own limitations. It focused on 14 states, only on children 8 years old, and the data came from 2008. Updated figures based on medical and school records are expected next year.
"We've been underestimating" how common autism is, said Michael Rosanoff of Autism Speaks, an advocacy group. He believes the figure is at least 1 in 50.
There are no blood or biologic tests for autism, so diagnosis is not an exact science. It's identified by making judgments about a child's behavior.
Doctors have been looking for autism at younger and younger ages, and experts have tended to believe most diagnoses are made in children by age 8.
However, the new study found significant proportions of children were diagnosed at older ages.
Dr. Roula Choueiri, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said she's seen that happening at her clinic. Those kids "tend to be the mild ones, who may have had some speech delays, some social difficulties," she wrote in an email. But they have more problems as school becomes more demanding and social situations grow more complex, she added.
Has anyone thought that it could be an evolutional change in our brains due to the amount of technology? Â There are parts of our brain we no longer use due to not having to. Â Also we don't talk as much anymore or communicate as adults, how are we expecting our children to? Â People now meet on the internet dating sites, how is that beneficial for social skills? Â I believe it may be due to a lot of contributing factors, however evolution does not mean good or bad it just means change, I think peoples brains are changing to adapt to the environment and society. Â Societies that don't have the technology that we have, autism is almost unheard of.
I'm gonna get flamed for this, but:
-If you start disciplining your kids once in a while and give them the spankings and beatings they need for misbehaving
-Stop letting them watch crap like SpongeBob and Family Guy
-Spend more time with them and nurture them
You'd have a lot less Austism and ADHD diagnosis.
@Donkey Kong Small problem with the spanking. With some kids, even if you do spank them, they honestly have no idea why you are spanking them or don't understand why you are doing it
One of my cousin's boys was diagnosed by a doctor a few years back as 'autistic' because he was quiet and didn't talk a lot. Â He's not autistic at all and has been doing world-wide missions which requires a lot of talking to sometimes hostile people and is enrolled in university now. Â His Mom wonders what that doctor was thinking. Â I have a neighbor who does have Aspergers - I can communicate with her just fine her answers are short and clipped - like yep, or nope - and there's no long-winded dissertations from her that's for sure (but I kind of like it) and I wonder when I think about it, I've known a lot of people in my life who talked like that and I wonder, did they have Aspergers or Autism? or was that the way they talked? Â LOL. Â We're all different and I do know there is various degrees of autism. Â I'm glad they are trying to diagnose it earlier these days.
Natasha Campbell-McBride has some amazing research into this epidemic. She healed her own son who was diagnosed as autistic. My own child was diagnosed as add/adhd early in life, there were times when I thought I would lose my mind because her beavoir was so out of control but, once we found this research and applied it, it helped my kid immensely!!
Based on our own experiences, I believe this epidemic is fueled by our ever increasing exposure to toxins in our environment, in our personal care products and mainly in foods; including GMOâs which are created using bacteria and viruses not found in the food chain before and have a high probability of upsetting the natural balance in the gut. We eliminated all those potentials and eat a healthy diet free from colors, additives and very little sugar and my child is very different!!
http://www.gaps.me/
Completely overdiagnosed, just as they're finding with the diagnosis craze that was ADHD in kids. Turns out most of those kids didn't need meds, or special ed. Â Every kid is different. And parents now seem desperate to find something wrong with their kids. Â You know, maybe if you didn't stick them in front of tv and computers from birth, they wouldn't have processing disorders. Â
"Health officials say the new number doesn't mean autism is occurring more often. But it does suggest that doctors are diagnosing autism more frequently, especially in children with milder problems."
So, we have to label every kid who's unique now? Â All my 4 children were different. Â They didn't need a label. Â Why can't we all just be a little different? Â There are diseases and conditions that need answers, and solutions... but not every mannerism and tic. Â Sometimes society makes me feel like they're trying to create a "Stepford" world...
(PS - I'm glad I homeschooled, and bypassed all the need for diagnosing the diversity. If one son is kinda hyper, and one of my daughters is a vocal fighter for justice, and one of my daughters was somewhat shy, and one son caught onto things enormously quickly  - I'm glad I didn't leave them to the devices of the system, who likely would have decided 2 of them had "mild conditions".  They're all earning livings, and seem to be doing fine in the big ocean of life.)
@Warmfrost This is why they're backing off on the "mild autism" diagnosis and Aspergers lately.  They're finding that parents (using internet forums) and doctors who are pressured by parents, and schools who are pressured by parents, were singling kids out who were just DIFFERENT, and forcing schools to have special classes for the kids, and aides, and all these accommodations for kids that were just a bit different.   We had kids like that in our school.. they were just different. We didn't segregate them, their parents didn't "advocate" for them (I HATE that term, btw, it means PITA parent)   You're so right. I was a daydreamer in school. I did well on tests, but hated homework, and hated being stuck inside all day.  I would have been diagnosed with midl autism or perhaps ADD if it was now. Â
Please take an opportunity to learn how the diagnostic process works before you make comments like this.  What you state above is not true at all.  If you had a child and took him/her to the doctor demanding you get an autism diagnosis for them, or did so at the school level, your child would not qualify for these services unless they truly met the criteria for developmental delay.  The school won't get extra funding to assist your child with their delays unless there is a significant documented delay.  In fact, I have a son who is a classic autistic and didn't qualify for gross/fine motor help because he was .1% points  shy of having enough of a delay for them to allow it.  2 of my kids are autistic and 2 are not.  One that isn't austic is seriously quirky, and quite a bit different, but he won't be getting a diagnosis for that.  Trust me, it doesn't work the way you seem to think it does.
@Warmfrost It's not like that.  The diagnostic process is incredibly thorough and many parents that I know who have kids with "quirks" have gone through these tests and not come up with an autism diagnosis - even when it seems like their kiddo would be a perfect fit.  When my kids were diagnosed, they had to have a 20% deficiency or more in several developmental categories before they were given their diagnosis.  It's quite a process that takes more than one physician in most cases to come up with an agreement.  They're not just having a conversation with the parent and signing a paper.
@ohhmammamia @Warmfrost SO what is the point of having your kid "diagnosed?" To single them out with an affliction so they can go through life as a victim?  Â
@DT @ohhmammamia @WarmfrostNot at all.  It is to allow them the opportunity to qualify for help with their disabilities at home, in school, for vocational training, for housing and other such things as needed.  If we hadn't had a diagnosis to work with, many therapies wouldn't be covered by our insurance.  A diagnosis also gives direction to therapists as how to best suit his needs and helps him to qualify for disability as an adult should he need assistance.
So does this mean we are now going to pay even more for professional mental health experts in the school system? Or should we just have a giant game of dodge ball and get it over with?
@Grumpa --- Well, if the government would stop spending money marked for K-12 education, there would already be money for much needed professional mental health experts in our schools. Between the ages of 5 and 18 our kids spend the majority of their time in school, so maybe if we had professionals in our schools looking out for our kids, we could nip some of these âmental healthâ issues in the bud at an early age. I am not suggesting we take parents out of the equation, Iâm just saying our kids spend a lot of their youth in school, so why not have professionals there instead of a bunch of under qualified "counselors."