On Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that one in 50 U.S. school-age children have a diagnosis of autism.
That number is up from one in 86 in 2007. The CDC says much of the increase involves milder cases, suggesting the rise is due to more awareness and better testing methods.
As documented before, boys in the study were four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. This is according to a study, which is based on American parent reports of autism diagnoses in 2011-12 compared with 2007.
Symptoms of autism can be detected in kids as young as 18 months of age, and doctors are urged to do a screening for delays on all children by age 2. However, doctors often fail to detect mild cases of autism until children enter school. During school, parents become aware of their child's problems with peers and teachers notice differences in the child's ability to interact socially.
Doctors believe genetics are the cause for 80 percent to 90 percent of the risk for developing autism, but most cases of autism cannot be traced to a known inherited cause.
Many believe that the increase in vaccines being added to children's mandatory schedule is a contributing factor in increasing autism cases.
What do you think?
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