Autism Spectrum Disorders Affect Almost 1 Percent of Kids

Dec. 18, 2009— -- Beth Bullen, a 44-year-old registered nurse in Caledonia, N.Y., is no stranger to autism spectrum disorders, or ASD. Her 10-year-old son has a severe form of autism, while her 13-year-old son has Asperger's syndrome.

"How they wrote, how they organized, their handwriting, their delay in crawling and walking -- that's when bells and whistles started going off," she said. "My oldest son didn't walk until he was 2, and didn't crawl until he was 15 months old. My younger son was majorly speech delayed."

So when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on Friday stating that almost 1 percent of American children had ASD, she said she was not shocked by the numbers.

"I don't think any of us parents are surprised, because I don't think what's common knowledge is that there are quite a few families that have children on the autism spectrum," Bullen said. "I have talked to families who have children with 3 or 4 children on the spectrum. I think we all know someone who is on the autism spectrum."

But while some parents might not have been shocked, those in the medical community say the numbers give pause.

"These numbers always sort of take our breath away," said Dr. Janet Farmer, professor and director of academic programs at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri. "I think those of us in the scientific community are quite shocked by this."

The report, based on data collected by the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network in 2006, tracked prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in children 8 years of age from 11 areas of the U.S., including parts of Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Health and education records were reviewed to identify children with ASD, including autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, and Asperger disorder.

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