What is the Autism Prevalence in the US?

Autism Prevalence in Arizona

• About 1 in 71 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (or 14.0 per 1,000 8-year-olds) in Arizona in 2014.
• Fewer than half of the children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by 3 years of age despite concerns about developmental delays. This lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation leads to delays in diagnosis and connection to the services and support the children need.
• Although ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age, in Arizona, the median age of diagnosis by a community provider is 4 years and 8 months of age.
• Differences between the percentage of boys and girls identified with ASD continue. It may be that boys are at greater risk for ASD, and/or it may be that girls are under-identified due to other factors.
• Hispanic children are less likely to be identified with ASD compared to non-Hispanic children in Arizona. This may reflect cultural differences, socioeconomic differences, and/or differences in access to diagnostic and therapeutic services.
• More children with average intelligence levels are being identified with ASD. This may reflect increased awareness of the signs of autism, differentiated from other developmental disabilities.

Autism Prevalence in Arkansas

• About 1 in 77 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Arkansas in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• Differences between the percentage of boys and girls identified with ASD continue. It may be that boys are at greater risk for ASD and/or it may be that girls are under-identified due to others factors, such as how providers diagnose and document ASD symptoms among boys versus girls.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were diagnosed with ASD by a community provider by 4 years, 11 months of age.
• Efforts may be directed toward evaluating and diagnosing all children with ASD as early as possible so that they can be connected to the services they need.

Autism Prevalence in Colorado

• About 1 in 72 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Colorado in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• Hispanic children were less likely to be identified with ASD than white or black children. Research does not show that being Hispanic makes a child less likely to develop ASD. This difference in identification may reflect cultural and/or socioeconomic differences, such as delayed or lack of access to services, as compared to other groups in Colorado.
• Despite the developmental concerns noted in many of the children’s records by 3 years of age, less than half of children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. The lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are being diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• Although ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age, about half of children were not diagnosed with ASD by a community provider until after age 4 years and 3 months. Of the children identified with ASD in Colorado through the CO-ADDM Project, only 58 percent had either eligibility for autism special education services or a clinical autism diagnosis documented in their records.

Autism Prevalence in Georgia

• About 1 in 59 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Georgia in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• The proportion of black and white children identified with ASD was about the same. However, Hispanic children were less likely to be identified with ASD than black or white children. This may reflect cultural and/or socioeconomic differences, such as language barriers and delayed or lack of access to services, as compared to white and black children in Georgia.
• Though developmental concerns were noted in many children’s records by 3 years of age, less than half of children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. The lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were not diagnosed with ASD by a community provider until after 4 years, 5 months of age.
• Efforts may be directed toward evaluating and diagnosing all children with ASD as early as possible so that they can be connected to the services they need.

Autism Prevalence in Maryland

• About 1 in 50 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Maryland in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• The percentage of children with ASD is high in this area of Maryland.
• Differences between the percentage of boys and girls identified with ASD continue. It may be that boys are at greater risk for ASD and/or it may be that girls are under-identified due to others factors, such as how providers diagnose and document ASD symptoms among boys versus girls.
• Despite the developmental concerns noted in many (92 percent) of the children’s records by 3 years of age, only slightly more than half (56 percent) of children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. The lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are being diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were diagnosed with ASD by a community provider by 4 years, 4 months of age.
• Efforts may be directed toward evaluating and diagnosing all children with ASD as early as possible so that they can be connected to the services they need.

Autism Prevalence in Minnesota

• About 1 in 42 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Minnesota in 2014.
• This is the first time MN has been a part of the ADDM network, and we are building our geographic area. The findings in this report reflect a small number of children concentrated in a large metropolitan area. The higher prevalence estimate is not unanticipated for a large metropolitan area.
• In MN there were differences between percentage of boys and girls identified, with more boys than girls. This is consistent with previous estimates.
• We found varying prevalence rates across racial and ethnic groups in Minnesota. The small number of children in some of these groups makes it difficult to determine whether the rates of children with autism truly are different across groups. As the geographic area for MN-ADDM grows, we will be better able to judge whether there are true differences in prevalence estimates. If differences are found, it will be important to focus on general health disparities that may influence these differences.
• In Minnesota, we identify autism much later than when first concerns are reported. The lag between first concern and diagnosis is concerning due to what we know about the importance of early intervention.

Autism Prevalence in Missouri

• About 1 in 71 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Missouri in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• Differences between the percentage of boys and girls identified with ASD continue. It may be that boys are at greater risk for ASD and/or it may be that girls are under-identified due to others factors, such as how providers diagnose and document ASD symptoms among boys versus girls.
• Despite the developmental concerns noted in many of the children’s records by 3 years of age, less than half of children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. The lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are being diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• Efforts may be directed toward evaluating and diagnosing all children with ASD as early as possible so that they can be connected to the services they need.

Autism Prevalence in New Jersey

• About 1 in 34 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in New Jersey in 2014.
• The percentage of children with ASD increased in New Jersey, from about 2.5 percent in 2012 to about 3 percent, in 2014. Rising numbers of children with ASD need services and support, now, and will require significant resources as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• Boys continue to have a higher ASD prevalence than girls. In 2014, almost 4 percent of boys in the area were identified with ASD, compared to about 1 percent of girls.
• ASD prevalence in New Jersey did not vary by race or ethnicity in 2014, unlike in 2012, suggesting that progress has been made in identifying all children with ASD.
• In spite of the fact that developmental concerns are noted in many of children’s records by 3 years of age, fewer than half of children with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. This lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are being diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were not diagnosed with ASD by a community provider until after 4 years of age.
• Future efforts may emphasize the importance of screening young children with standard tools and connecting families to needed services before 3 years of age.
• The percentage of children with ASD continues to be higher in New Jersey compared to other areas in the United States where CDC tracks ASD. It is not known exactly why this is so, but geographic differences in evaluation and diagnostic practices for children with developmental concerns may play a role.

Autism Prevalence in North Carolina

• About 1 in 57 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in North Carolina in 2014.
• Many children are living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• Hispanic children were less likely to be identified with ASD than white or black children. This may reflect cultural and/or socioeconomic differences, such as delayed or lack of access to services, as compared to other groups in North Carolina.
• Among the areas where CDC tracks ASD across the United States, the area in central North Carolina had the highest percentage of children identified with ASD who had received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by 3 years of age. This is good news, but there is still more to be done to ensure that all children are evaluated as soon as concerns about their development are identified.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were not diagnosed with ASD by a community provider until after 3 years, 4 months of age.
• Efforts may be directed toward evaluating and diagnosing all children with ASD as early as possible so that they can be connected to the services they need.

Autism Prevalence in Tennessee

• About 1 in 64 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Tennessee in 2014.
• There are many children living with ASD who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
• This is the first time data from ADDM are available for TN. The percentage of children with ASD in TN (1.6 percent) was very similar to current estimates across the United States (1.7 percent).
• Despite the developmental concerns noted in many of the children’s records by 3 years of age, only about one-third (34 percent) of children with ASD received a comprehensive evaluation by this same age. This gap between early concerns and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are diagnosed and the intervention services they need.
• ASD can be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age; however, about half of children were not diagnosed with ASD by a community provider until after 4 years, 8 months of age.

Autism Prevalence in Wisconsin

• About 1 in 71 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Wisconsin in 2014.
• The percentage of children with ASD increased in southeastern Wisconsin from about 1.1 percent in 2012 to about 1.4 percent in 2014.
• Hispanic and black children were less likely to be identified with ASD than white children. This may reflect cultural and/or socioeconomic differences, such as delayed or lack of access to services, as compared to white children in Wisconsin.
• Despite the developmental concerns noted in many of the children’s records by 3 years of age, less than half of children identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by this same age. The lag between first concern and first developmental evaluation may affect when children are being diagnosed and connected to the services they need.
• Efforts may be directed toward early developmental screening of all children so those who have ASD can be identified early and connected to the services they need.