Is Autism Increasing?
The CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network estimates that 3.2% (1 in 31) of 8-year-olds had been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2022.
As diagnostic methods improve and clinical monitoring increases, the identification of autism spectrum disorder in U.S. children has become more prevalent.
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
The CDC defines ASD as “a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.”
ASD is caused by neurological differences, which can be caused by known genetic conditions along with other not-yet-identified factors — or most likely, a combination.
People with autism may learn, behave, and interact differently than others. Some are nonverbal and need assistance with daily living; others have advanced conversational abilities and live independently with little or no support. According to the CDC, ASD begins before the age of three and is generally lifelong, though symptoms may improve as people age.
There is no medical test for autism, and it can be difficult to diagnose. It’s not uncommon for people to receive diagnoses in adolescence or adulthood. The CDC cautions that the symptoms of ASD also appear in people without autism.
Are ASD diagnoses becoming more frequent?
The latest ADDM surveillance data—which includes 274,857 8-year-old-children from 16 sites—reports that 32 out of 1,000 monitored children (3.2%) were diagnosed with autism in 2022, compared to 28 in 1,000 (2.8%) in 2020, and 7 in 1,000 (0.7%) in 2000.
How does ASD differ between demographics?
Autism spectrum disorder is more commonly identified in boys than girls. In 2022, 4.9% (49 in 1,000) of 8-year-old boys were estimated to have autism, compared with 1.4% (14 in 1,000) of girls of the same age.
In 2022, Asian or Pacific Islander children had the highest number of ASD diagnoses (3..8%), while
non-Hispanic white children had the lowest (2.7%).
Why has the prevalence of autism increased?
According to the CDC, it's unclear how much the increase can be attributed to changes to the clinical definition of ASD, or increased efforts to diagnose.
Early identification of autism spectrum disorder has improved in recent years, so more children receive diagnoses at a younger age.
For example, children born in 2018 were 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism by age four than those born in 2014.
Where does the data come from?
The ADDM collects data using a review method that tracks over 250,000 8-year-olds across the U.S.
For the 2022 report, the ADDM collected data from 16 sites: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas (two sites), Utah, and Wisconsin.
Among states and territories with sites in 2022, there were 274,857 eight-year-old children in tracking communities, broken down as follows:
• 42% white
• 26% Hispanic
• 21% Black
• 6% Asian or Pacific Islander
• 5% Multiracial
• Less than 1% American Indian or Alaska Native
