About 1 in 68 children in 10 states monitored by the Centers for Disease Control have been identified with an autism spectrum disorder, the highest prevalence of the diagnosis since the agency first started monitoring it in 2000.
In 2008, the estimate was that approximately 1 in 88 children in the monitored states had been diagnosed with an ASD.
The latest estimates are based on information collected from the health and special education records of children who were 8 years old and lived in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin in 2010. They showed that the disorder was far more prevalent among boys than girls.
Likewise, white children were more likely to be identified with the disorder than black or Hispanic children.
The Centers for Disease Control said it did not know what was driving the increased prevalence, though some of it may be due to the way children are identified, diagnosed, and served in their local communities.
