Autism More Common Than Believed: Survey

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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/2/8/102811.shtml?s=he

Autism More Common Than Believed: Survey

NewsMax.com Wires

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Autism is more common in the United States than anyone

had estimated, affecting about one in every 150 children, the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Two surveys by the agency encompassed 22 states and represented the

largest and most comprehensive studies of how many children have

autism. It showed a wide variation among the states, ranging from

4.5 per 1,000 children having an autism-related disorder in West

Virginia to 9.9 per 1,000 in New Jersey.

" There's been a lot of concern about what the prevalence of autism

is in the United States and we haven't really had the data systems

to answer that completely, " said Rice of the CDC's birth-

defects division, who helped lead the study.

The surveys look at 8-year-olds, the first in eight states and the

second looks at 8-year-olds in 14 states. On average, they found

that about one in 150 children born in 1992 and 1994, or 6.7 per

thousand, have autism.

Previous estimates had put the incidence at somewhere between one in

166 children and one in 175.

The reports are the first from the government-funded Autism and

Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.

" We really do think that these data are important because they

represent the most complete and accurate picture of autism spectrum

disorders in the United States to date, " Rice said in a telephone

interview.

Types of " autism spectrum disorder " range from autism, which can

severely disable a child by interfering with speech and behavior, to

Asperger's syndrome, a much milder behavioral problem.

The researchers hope to eventually use the surveys to help figure

out what causes autism. They also want to be able to verify

suspicions autism may be growing more common in the United States.

" We hope these findings will build awareness, " Rice said.

Activists have said for years that autism was becoming more common.

Some experts discount claims of skyrocketing rates, saying the

definition of autism has changed over the years, but reliable survey

figures have been scarce.

" A lot of professionals were asking what had changed, had we seen

more children than in the past? " said Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp,

who helped lead the study.

The CDC surveys, published in Thursday's weekly report on death and

disease, use a variety of sources such as schools, physician reports

and other data. Rice said it took years to get required approvals to

see the data.

The autism rates remained fairly stable over the two years in which

the surveys were taken, Rice said, except for in West Virginia,

where the prevalence rose greatly. Rice said it is not clear yet

why.

The studies also showed far fewer of the autistic children had

mental retardation than in previous estimates.

" The older statistics always estimated 70 to 75 percent of kids with

autism had cognitive impairment, " Rice said. " We found 33 to 62

percent. "