According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Health Interview Survey, there is a significant increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or another related developmental disability.
The study, wich was conducted in 2014, found that as many as 1 in 45 children, between the ages of 3 to 17, have autism. The annual survey found autism rates of 1.25%, or one in 80 people, from 2011 to 2013.
Researchers also added, “In contrast, the prevalence of other developmental disorders declined significantly from 4.84 percent based on 2011-2013 data to 3.57 percent based on 2014 data,” as said on NBC News.
CDC researchers contacted 35,000 households, asking parents of children a series of detailed questions on health conditions, functional limitations and healthcare utilization. They rearranged the questions and ask for ASD and other developmental delays, where they found what they believe is a truer look at the prevalence of autism.
Researchers determined that the changes in survey methods may be responsible for some of the continued increase of diagnosis, as well as changing questions, asking them in a easy and better way than before, which they believe helped parents give more accurate responses about their children.
“One in 45 is what we think is the most accurate parental report of autism to date,” Benjamin Zablotsky, an epidemiologist at the NCHS, told NBC News. “I think within this report we found that the way that we ask the parents about autism spectrum disorder can have an impact on the way the parents respond to the question. We feel we are asking the question in a better way than before.”
These findings are consistent with other previous studies, which try to prove if autism occurs more often or if it is simply recognized and diagnosed more frequently. A team of Penn State University also found that children are now being reclassified from the widest, as pervasive developmental disorder autism to the most specific.
Source: NBC News