Autism Prevalence Rising Rapidly in Some Schools

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Autism Prevalence Rising Rapidly in Some Schools

Last Updated: October 25, 2010.

In Wisconsin, the number of children with autism is increasing in school

districts with low baseline prevalence, while other school districts are seeing

a leveling off in their numbers, according to research published online Oct. 25

in Pediatrics.

MONDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- In Wisconsin, the number of children with

autism is increasing in school districts with low baseline prevalence, while

other school districts are seeing a leveling off in their numbers, according to

research published online Oct. 25 in Pediatrics.

J. Maenner, and Maureen S. Durkin, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin

in Madison, looked at special education enrollment counts in all elementary

school districts in Wisconsin from 2002 through 2008 to calculate the prevalence

of children with autism. Districts were grouped into eight categories (octiles)

according to their baseline prevalence.

The researchers found that, during the study period, the overall prevalence of

autism increased from 4.9 to 9.0 cases per 1,000 children. Districts in the

lowest octile of autism prevalence in 2002 tended to have rapid increases in

prevalence over the study period, while the districts in the highest octile of

autism prevalence in 2002 did not see significant increases. The highest

octile/lowest octile ratio fell from 24.6 in 2002 to 1.8 in 2008.

" The prevalence of autism is expressed popularly as single point estimates for

relatively large regions, such as countries or states. The findings presented

here demonstrate that variability of trends within smaller areas offers

additional insights into the increasing prevalence of autism in special

education, and they reveal heterogeneous trends within a population, " the

authors write.