CNN US: 1 in 88 children have a form of Autism - CDC

[Guest guest]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/health/autism/index.html?hpt=he_c1

1 in 88 children have a form of

Autism

APRIL NATIONAL AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH

CDC: U.S. kids with autism up 78% in past decadeBy

Miriam Falco, CNN

updated 1:16 PM EDT, Thu March 29, 2012

(CNN) -- The number of children with autism in the United States

continues to rise, according to a new report released Thursday by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest data estimate that

1 in 88 American children has some form of autism spectrum disorder.

That's a 78% increase compared to a decade ago, according to the

report.

Since 2000, the CDC has based its autism estimates on surveillance

reports from its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring

Network. Every two years, researchers count how many 8-year-olds have

autism in about a dozen communities across the nation. (The number of

sites ranges from six to 14 over the years, depending on the available

funding in a given year.)

In 2000 and 2002, the autism estimate was about 1 in 150 children. Two

years later 1 in 125 8-year-olds had autism. In 2006, the number was 1 in

110, and the newest data -- from 2008 -- suggests 1 in 88 children have

autism.

Read the CDC report (PDF)

U.S. kids and autism

Overall: 1 in 88 U.S. kids have autism; up 78% from 2002

Boys: 1 in 54; up 82% from 2002

Girls: 1 in 252; up 63% from 2002

Non-Hispanic white children: 12 in 1,000; up 70% from 2002

Non-Hispanic black children: 10.2 in 1,000; up 91% from 2002

Hispanic children: 7.9 in 1,000; up 110% from 2002

Total: Estimated 1,000,000 children with autism

Symptoms typically apparent before age 3

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Boys with autism continue to outnumber girls 5-to-1, according to the CDC

report. It estimates that 1 in 54 boys in the United States have

autism.

Mark Roithmayr, president of the

advocacy

group Autism Speaks, says more children are being diagnosed

with autism because of " better diagnosis, broader diagnosis, better

awareness, and roughly 50% of 'We don't know.' "

He said the numbers show there is an epidemic of autism in the United

States.

Early recognition of signs of autism -- a neurodevelopment disorder that

leads to impaired language, communication and social skills -- is vital

because it can lead to early intervention, says Dr. Goldstein, an

autism specialist and president of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in

Baltimore.

" There have been studies -- double-blinded studies -- to show that

behavioral early intervention changes the outcome for children, "

Goldstein says.

Roy and Charlie sensed something was wrong with their son

ie when he was 9 months old.

" Our pediatrician at the time who was a friend of ours tried to tell

us that we were being too cautious, we were being too anxious, "

says.

ie's pediatrician thought his parents were seeing developmental

delays that weren't really there. But ie wasn't talking,

says. " He didn't have speech; he didn't have any communication

skills at all. He didn't point. He would flap quite a bit. He would stare

at fans; he would stare at lights; he would become frantic if he didn't

have a the [Tank] Engine because he was obsessed with the

[Tank] Engine. "

ie at age 15 months relaxes with his father Charlie

.

His parents kept pushing, and ie, now a ninth-grade nose guard and

defensive guard for the Decatur Bulldogs football team in Decatur,

Georgia, was diagnosed with autism when he was 15 months old.

iReport: Have a child with autism? Sign up to participate in a project

with CNN.

" Early detection is associated with better outcomes, "

says CDC Director Dr. Frieden. " The earlier kids are

detected, the earlier they could get services, and the less impairment

they'll have on their learning and in their lives on a long-term basis is

our best understanding. "

The CDC is working with the Academy of American Pediatrics to recommend

that children get screened for autism at ages 18 months and 24 months,

Frieden says.

CDC: What you

should know about autism

However, according to the CDC report, most children were diagnosed

between ages 4 and 5, when a child's brain is already more developed and

harder to change.

" Doctors are getting better at diagnosing autism; communities are

getting much better at [providing] services to children with autism, and

CDC scientists are getting much better at tracking which kids in the

communities we're studying have autism, " Frieden says.

Please go to the above link for the full article.

Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian

Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA

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