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12-21-2009, 04:51 AM
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CDC Says 1 In 110 Kids Is Autistic
Rate Much Higher For Boys Than Girls
Updated: 12:05 pm CST December 18, 2009
AP Image
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that one in 110 children has autism.
The CDC released the new estimate Friday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study looked at 8-year-old children who had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 2006.
The estimated prevalence of autism is a small change from a one in 100 estimate CDC officials made in October based off an evaluation of parents, but its bigger when compared to a 2007 report that put the rate at one in 150 children.
The numbers also serve to highlight the overall prevalence of autism when compared to other childhood diseases, including about one in 8,000 children who suffer from pediatric cancers and one in 500 who suffer from juvenile diabetes.
Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism and science advocacy organization, said the CDC estimates serve to underline the importance of more funding for autism research.
"These numbers are shocking," said Bob Wright, Autism Speaks' co-founder, and the grandfather of an autistic child.
The news was even worse for boys. The CDC found that autism affects boys at a rate of about one in 70 while it affects girls at a rate of about one in 375.
Some of the increase in prevalence can be explained by better detection, however Dr. Catherine Rice, a behavioral health scientist with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said a simple explanation is not apparent.
"We have much to learn about the causes," Rice said.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting.
CDC Says 1 In 110 Kids Is Autistic
Rate Much Higher For Boys Than Girls
Updated: 12:05 pm CST December 18, 2009
AP Image
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that one in 110 children has autism.
The CDC released the new estimate Friday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study looked at 8-year-old children who had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 2006.
The estimated prevalence of autism is a small change from a one in 100 estimate CDC officials made in October based off an evaluation of parents, but its bigger when compared to a 2007 report that put the rate at one in 150 children.
The numbers also serve to highlight the overall prevalence of autism when compared to other childhood diseases, including about one in 8,000 children who suffer from pediatric cancers and one in 500 who suffer from juvenile diabetes.
Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism and science advocacy organization, said the CDC estimates serve to underline the importance of more funding for autism research.
"These numbers are shocking," said Bob Wright, Autism Speaks' co-founder, and the grandfather of an autistic child.
The news was even worse for boys. The CDC found that autism affects boys at a rate of about one in 70 while it affects girls at a rate of about one in 375.
Some of the increase in prevalence can be explained by better detection, however Dr. Catherine Rice, a behavioral health scientist with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said a simple explanation is not apparent.
"We have much to learn about the causes," Rice said.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting.