A major government study says that the rate of autism diagnosis is going up nationwide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in every 68 children in the U.S. meets the criteria for autism.
The report is based on health and school records collected from 11 states.
When the CDC first used this method in 2007, it was estimated that 1 in 150 children was autistic.
The rate has gone up in every report since then.
"We really need a national plan here, a national strategy for how we're going to tackle autism," said Dr. Paul Wong, senior vice president of Autism Speaks. "We need to make sure that everybody who has it is diagnosed, is recognized. We want to make sure that we have resources in place for them and they can get connected to those resources."
Some experts caution that the disease itself may not be increasing as quickly as the numbers indicate, just the diagnoses.
They say that increased awareness may lead doctors to diagnose more mild cases of autism.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in every 68 children in the U.S. meets the criteria for autism.
The report is based on health and school records collected from 11 states.
When the CDC first used this method in 2007, it was estimated that 1 in 150 children was autistic.
The rate has gone up in every report since then.
"We really need a national plan here, a national strategy for how we're going to tackle autism," said Dr. Paul Wong, senior vice president of Autism Speaks. "We need to make sure that everybody who has it is diagnosed, is recognized. We want to make sure that we have resources in place for them and they can get connected to those resources."
Some experts caution that the disease itself may not be increasing as quickly as the numbers indicate, just the diagnoses.
They say that increased awareness may lead doctors to diagnose more mild cases of autism.
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://ift.tt/O4sEO7
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