Autism rates in children show a continued but modest increase, according to a study of the most recent data available, which may suggest a leveling off. However, researchers also found that many children are not diagnosed until age 4 or older.
“There is a gap between the time when parents first recognize that their children are delayed in development (typically 18-24 months) and when they receive an evaluation that confirms the diagnosis (typically after the age of 4 years),” said John N. Constantino, M.D., one of the study’s authors.
Constantino is also the Blanche F. Ittleson professor of Psychiatric and Pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, the director of the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and co-director of Washington University’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.
That gap is problematic because the older a child is when diagnosed with autism, the harder it is for health-care professionals to intervene and change the trajectory of autism spectrum disorder. Children with autism often face social challenges, communication problems and intellectual deficits, but research suggests some of those hurdles may be overcome with early, intensive therapy.
“Early intensive behavioral interventions involve one-on-one support (by a developmental therapist or parent when specifically trained) to help a child acquire the succession of necessary developmental competencies that are not coming naturally to them,” Dr. Constantino told The American. “This includes motivating and helping young children to sustain attention with another person, to improve their ability to engage in turn-taking social interaction, to develop communication skills through symbolic play and practice, and to regulate emotion so that they are not overwhelmed.”
Washington University School of Medicine is among the 11-center Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which based its findings on 2014 data, the most recent year that comprehensive statistics are available, involving more than 10,886 children. The results were published April 27 in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.”
Researchers found that 1.7 percent of 8-year-olds (1 in 59) in the study had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. That compares with 1.5 percent (1 in 68) in 2012. This increase could indicate an improvement in the identification of autism spectrum disorder, particularly in previously underdiagnosed minority populations, among other factors. Prevalence estimates in the 11 communities represented in this report ranged widely, from a low of 1.3 percent to a high of 3 percent.
“I think this shows that the prevalence of autism in the U.S. is continuing to show signs of steadying,” he said. “Unfortunately, however, it appears many kids still aren’t getting diagnosed early enough to get maximum benefit from therapy.”
Thirty-nine percent of the children in the study who were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder did not receive such a diagnosis until they were over 4 years of age, he said.
Dr. Constantino said it remains a priority to diagnose autism earlier and begin intervention sooner, especially given recent research suggesting that higher intensity and duration of early developmental therapy for children with autism is associated with significant improvements in outcomes.
For more information about autism spectrum disorder or autism therapy, visit https://bit.ly/2I0pGdY or www.autismspeaks.org.
