Autism Study Reveals Increased Awareness in ASD

The results of the study may not be a cause for panic as there just may be more awareness about the disorder. Increased awareness will have a positive impact on further research for the autism spectrum disorders.

The study was based on data from the federal government's 2007 national survey of children's health. The telephone survey of parents was conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were more than 78,000 parents surveyed who had children ages 3 to 17.

Autism is one of a group of serious developmental problems called autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that appear in early childhood — usually before age 3. Though symptoms and severity vary, all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. Although there is no cure for autism, intensive, early treatment can make an enormous difference in the lives of many children with the disorder.

The study results in journal Pediatricsestimates that more U.S. children than ever have a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Overall, the prevalence was 110 out of every 10,000 children ages 3 to 17. But the rate varied by sex and racial or ethnic group.

Boys: 173 of 10,000
Girls: 43 of 10,000
Hispanic: 103 of 10,000
Non-Hispanic white: 125 of 10,000
Non-Hispanic black: 61 of 10,000
Non-Hispanic multiracial: 71 of 10,000
Non-Hispanic other single race: 66 of 10,000

At a news conference on October 2, director of the National Institute of Mental Health said, "The concern here is that buried in these numbers is a true increase. We're not sure how big it is."

Apparently, President Obama wants to increase spending on autism research by the National Institutes of Health by 16%.

Parents were asked in the telephone survey whether a health care provider had ever told them their child had an autism spectrum disorder. They were also asked if the children had ASD now. Almost 40 percent of the parents survey replied no.

This answer was troubling and made researchers question whether some of the children originally diagnosed as having ASD may have been improperly diagnosed. The disorders are not considered curable.

In his news conference, Dr. Insel also said that the autism spectrum disorder reports revealed raise "a lot of questions about how we are preparing in terms of housing, employment, social support -- all the issues that many of these people are going to need ... It also raises questions about how well we're prepared in the educational system to provide for the special needs of many of these kids."

Written by Cheryl Phillips
EXCLUSIVE to HULIQ.com

sources: Pediatrics journal, CDC, HRSA