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Autism Now Diagnosed in 1 in Every 44 Children, CDC Says
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of U.S. News & World Report
Posted: December 12th, 2021
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-12-02/...
Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows. One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found. But a second study offered more heartening news: After looking at 4-year-old children in the same 11 communities analyzed in the first report, researchers found there was progress in the early identification of children with autism. These children were 50% more likely to receive an autism diagnosis or special education classification by age 4 when compared to the 8-year-olds. The new rate was based on 2018 data from 11 communities in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network. Autism rates in those communities ranged from 1 in 60 (1.7%) in Missouri to 1 in 26 (3.9%) in California. These differences could be due to how communities identify children with autism, according to the CDC, which noted that some communities also have more services for children with autism and their families. The reports were published Dec. 2 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Researchers also found persistent racial and ethnic differences in the diagnosis of autism. In several of the 11 communities, fewer Hispanic children were diagnosed with autism than Black or white children.
Note: Why isn't the government pouring in billions of dollars to get to the bottom of what is causing this huge and continuing rise in autism? For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on health from reliable major media sources.
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