April is Autism Awareness Month

Autism is a developmental disability characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) leave no doubt that autism is a critical public health issue that deeply affects the lives of millions of Americans. Autism is a spectrum disorder. That means autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect each person in different ways, and can range from very mild to severe. People with ASDs share some similar symptoms, such as problems with social interaction. But there are differences in when the symptoms start, how severe they are, and the exact nature of the symptoms. What was once considered a rare disorder now reportedly affects 1 in 88 children.

Prevalence 

• About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM)                 
• ASDs are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
• ASDs are almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252).                     
• Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with an ASD with an average prevalence of about 1%. A recent study in South Korea reported a prevalence of 2.6%.                
• About 1 in 6 children in the U.S. had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities like cerebral palsy and autism.

More people than ever before are being diagnosed with an ASD. It is unclear how much of this increase is due to a broader definition of ASDs and better efforts in diagnosis. The CDC explains how the increase in ASD diagnosis is likely due to a combination of both factors. According to the CDC, a true increase in the number of people with an ASD cannot be ruled out.

What Research Tells Us

Most scientists agree that genes are one of the risk factors that can make a person more likely to develop an ASD. Studies have shown that:  

• Among identical twins, if one child has an ASD, then the other will be affected about 36-95% of the time. In non-identical twins, if one child has an ASD, then the other is affected about 0-31% of the time.               
• Parents who have a child with an ASD have a 2%–18% chance of having a second child who is also affected.                     
• ASDs tend to occur more often in people who have certain other medical conditions. About 10% of children with an ASD have an identifiable genetic, neurologic, or metabolic disorder, such as: Fragile X syndrome, Tuberous sclerosis, Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders

• We know that the once common belief that poor parenting practices cause ASDs is not true.    

• A small percentage of children who are born prematurely or with low birth-weight are at greater risk for having ASDs.

Sources:

Centers for disease control. cdc.gov

autismspeaks.org