Yesterday, the CDC reported that autism diagnoses have increased 30% in the past two years. For today’s blog, Seattle Mama Doc, Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, and Seattle Children’s Autism Center Medical Director, Dr. Charles Cowan, discuss what this increase means and how parents can best advocate for their children.
“Like a bell on a quiet night, I feel parents need to hear this most: we just want to connect children with the resources they need to thrive at home and at school and throughout their lives. Doesn’t matter what we call it, we want children of all backgrounds, of all resources, and all opportunity to be afforded the chance for a connected, lovely life. As a realist of course, I do know that numbers matter because it changes how we screen, how we advocate for children, how we move funds and resources, and how we ensure children get what we need. Numbers help activate.
The new numbers don’t mean anything is different today than it was 2 years ago really. Instead:
The “new” number published this week finds an estimated 1 out of every 68 children here in the US has an autism diagnosis at age 8. Like before, likelihood for autism is more common if you have a family history of autism and 5 times more common for boys compared to girls. Children who aren’t white don’t get identified as having autism as often and we know from numerous studies non-white children don’t get the resources they need like their caucasian counterparts. That’s not new, either. Also, there may be environmental factors at play although data on determining true environmental causes of autism, versus associations, is still unfolding. Researchers are trying to sort out the role for chemical exposures, e.g. how close you live to highways, and what your children eats in predisposing a child to challenges with communication…” read full post on Seattle Mama Doc
