"The prevalence rate of 1 in 90 is based on telephone interviews of parents who were asked about a diagnosis of ASD. Children were not assessed independently to verify the parents’ reports. There were no earlier figures using this survey approach for comparison, although a separate survey conducted by the CDC also reports roughly 1 in 100 children with the diagnosis in 2006, up from earlier reports in 2002. As noted in the Pediatrics paper, there are many possible explanations for this trend, including a change in study methods to include a wider range of ASD diagnoses, improved screening and diagnostic tools which may allow healthcare providers to identify more cases of ASD and at earlier ages, as well as increased public awareness which may encourage more parents to bring their children in for diagnosis when they suspect their child has ASD.
This new estimate does not necessarily indicate a rising incidence—the number of new cases over a given time span—for ASD. Specifically, it is unclear from the report in Pediatrics whether the 1 in 90 estimate is measuring a true increase in ASD cases or improvements in our ability to detect it."
Full article here.
