Why is Autism on the Rise and Increasing?
Researchers began tracking the prevalence of autism only 24 years ago in the United States. Since that time, the rates have steadily risen, causing many people to believe there is a new “epidemic” of autism occurring in the country.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, in 2022, one in 36 children had autism. That represents a big increase from the estimated one-in-44 rate from 2001, which was an even bigger increase from the 2006 estimate of one-in-110.
With statistics such as these, it’s easy to become alarmed about the prevalence of autism in children in the United States today, and whether it will continue to rise unless something is done.
But, there are a lot of other explanations for why autism is on the rise and increasing seemingly every time a new study is released. We’ll discuss some of those potential reasons in more depth below.
Table Of Contents
Enhanced Screening
Autism rates weren’t very high in the early 2000s — at least compared to where they are today — in large part because there weren’t extensive screening practices in place.
That all changed in 2006, though, when the American Academy of Pediatrics introduced new recommendations that all children from 18 months old to 24 months old should go through autism screenings during their routine visits with the pediatrician.
This resulted in many more children going through routine autism screenings — something that before now hadn’t been done. Thanks to these recommendations, doctors began to identify even milder autism cases that, in the past, likely would’ve been missed.
More Awareness
The increased screenings thanks to the recommendations from the AAP also resulted in much more awareness of autism being spread to parents. Information about the common signs and symptoms of autism — and what parents should look for in their children — was now very easy to access and consistently presented to them.
From some of the very first pediatrician visits, doctors were able to speak to parents about typical developmental milestones, which play a big part in identifying autism. This helped parents search for themselves on their own at home, and then seek out additional support if they felt their child might have autism.
What’s more, this increased awareness happened outside of just with parents and pediatricians. Now, others who are in the presence of children often — including babysitters, daycare workers, teachers and more — are aware of the common signs of symptoms of autism, which helps lead to more accurate diagnoses.
Improved Health Care Access
In order to be diagnosed with autism, a child has to be seen by a professional. In many cases, the first interaction with a professional happens with the child’s pediatrician, who may then refer the parents to someone who specializes in autism spectrum disorder.
Over the last 25 years, there has been an improved access to health care in the U.S., especially among some minority groups that didn’t have that access before. Changes in legislation helped more Hispanic and African American families gain access to quality health care, which helped lead to an increased number of ASD diagnoses.
At the same time, all the additional resources and knowledge that has been gained about autism has resulted in medical and behavioral professionals being better at accurately diagnosing autism. This has resulted in fewer diagnoses being missed, which has led to an increased prevalence rate of ASD.
Expanded Criteria
A little more than 10 years ago, the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was introduced to describe multiple developmental disorders that share similar signs and symptoms. This led directly to more children being diagnosed with autism than ever before.
That’s because other disorders, such as Asperger’s syndrome, are now considered in the same “family” as Autistic Disorder.
Another major change happened with the criteria that is used for diagnosing autism. The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known as DSM-5, allows professionals to diagnose children with ASD and ADHD, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Per the old DSM version, this was not allowed. That meant that some children who likely had at least a milder case of autism were instead diagnosed with only ADHD, which led to lower prevalence rates of autism.
Blue Gems ABA Treats Children with ASD
While autism prevalence rates have exploded in the U.S. in recent years, there are many explanations for why this is happening. Research and studies suggest that autism itself hasn’t risen, but rather diagnoses have become more accurate, with fewer children “missed.”
At Blue Gems ABA, we have a team of BCBAs who administer applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy, to help children build the social, communication and daily life skills with which they likely struggle.
To learn more, please contact us today.