Abstract
Race-specific time trends in Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence are tracked among 3–5 year-olds and 8 year-olds identified by the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, respectively. White ASD prevalence historically has been higher than other racial groups but plateaued for IDEA birth cohorts from ~ 2004 to 2007 before resuming its increase. Black and Hispanic IDEA prevalence increased continuously and caught up to whites by birth year ~ 2008 and ~ 2013, respectively, with black prevalence subsequently exceeding white prevalence in the majority of states. Plateaus in white prevalence occurred in some ADDM states for birth years 2002–2006, but IDEA trends suggest prevalence will increase across all racial groups in ADDM’s birth year 2008 report.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication and restricted or stereotyped behaviors (APA 2013)
The mid 2000s plateau in white prevalence is evident in many individual states, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) data are erratic in a number of states (Figure S1)
When the data are sorted according to absolute value of white prevalence in the most recent report year 2017 (i.e., < 0.5%, 0.5–1%, > 1%), the mean of each of these subgroups looks similar to the nationwide mean in showing a flattening of the white prevalence trend between about birth year 2004–2007 (Fig. 1)
Summary
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication and restricted or stereotyped behaviors (APA 2013). Black and Hispanic children have been more likely than white children to have severe forms of autism and/or co-occurring intellectual disability (Jarquin et al 2011; CDC 2018). One explanation for these findings is that autism has been underdiagnosed in some traditionally underserved children, especially those who have milder symptoms (Liptak et al 2008). The most recent report of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network found that overall ASD prevalence was 1.68% among 8 year-olds born in 2006 (CDC 2018). The recent ADDM report noted that the prevalence of ASD among black and Hispanic children was approaching the rate identified in white peers (CDC 2018). It was suggested that the narrowing gap between white children and peers of other races might account for some or much of the increase between the birth year 2006 and previous ADDM Network reports
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