Affecting 1 in every 59 American children, autism is one of the most talked-about and controversial topics in modern healthcare. If you don&rsquo;t know who or what to believe, you&rsquo;ve come to the right place.

Let&rsquo;s start with a definition: Autism spectrum disorder encompasses several related brain disorders (once separately known as autism, Asperger&#39;s and similar conditions) that affect behavior, communication and social interaction. People with this disorder fall along the autism spectrum&mdash;meaning that while the symptoms they experience are related, such as difficulty communicating and impairments in behavioral functions, they vary from person to person. Those diagnosed with autism can range from &ldquo;high-functioning&rdquo; individuals who lead normal lives to those who need lifelong care.

Those are the undisputed facts, but there are also many common&mdash;and untrue&mdash;theories surrounding autism. &ldquo;There is misinformation regarding the [cause], the prognosis and the increased prevalence, as well as treatment,&rdquo; says Sharecare expert Ronald Leaf, PhD, who has more than 30 years of experience researching and treating autism. He&rsquo;s here to help separate myth from fact.

Myth: Vaccines given in early childhood cause autism. 
Fact: The overwhelming scientific consensus is that there is no association between <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/vaccines-and-immunizations/slideshow/vaccination-myths-stop-believing">vaccines</a> and autism. In fact, when kids are not vaccinated on the schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they&rsquo;re at increased risk for several preventable diseases&mdash;including <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/measles-rubeola/article/what-you-should-know-about-measles">measles</a>.

Myth: Autism doesn&rsquo;t show up before age 2 or 3. 
Fact: Signs of autism can show up when a child is 18 months old&mdash;or even sooner. &ldquo;I have seen children as young as 6 months old who appear to have autism spectrum disorder,&rdquo; says Dr. Leaf. &ldquo;However, typically we wait until age 2 to provide a firm diagnosis.&rdquo; If you have concerns about your baby or toddler, share them with your child&rsquo;s pediatrician.

Myth: People with autism can&rsquo;t express affection. 
Fact: Many adults and kids with autism may not make eye contact or give hugs, but they do show affection in their own way. Treatment can help them learn ways to express their emotions. Dr. Leaf recommends applied behavior analysis (ABA), which uses teaching and behavioral support to help increase communication and improve social behaviors, as the most effective treatment for autism spectrum disorders.

Myth: Autism is caused by bad parenting. 
Fact: In the 1950s, University of Chicago professor Bruno Bettleheim promoted the &quot;refrigerator mother&quot; theory of autism: Cold, emotionally distant parenting inflicted emotional trauma on a child that led to autism. While a healthy and supportive environment is important for raising a child with autism, experts now believe the disorder is strictly biological. The way in which a child is raised does not increase risk of an autism spectrum disorder.

Myth: Autism can be outgrown. 
Fact: It&rsquo;s a lifelong brain disorder, not a phase. However, the right treatment can help mitigate some symptoms, especially in children. Studies have shown that individual and intense treatment personalized to meet the patient&rsquo;s needs has the greatest effect on improving social abilities. For those who are high functioning, treatment can enable them to lead productive lives. And without treatment? &ldquo;Children get worse over time,&rdquo; says Dr. Leaf.

Myth: Only people with low intelligence have autism. 
Fact: People with autism have a wide range of intelligence levels. However, Dr. Leaf says that children with untreated autism often do poorly on IQ tests. His research found that weekly behavioral treatment over several years dramatically increased autistic children&rsquo;s IQ levels.

The bottom line? It&rsquo;s important to have an informed discussion with your healthcare provider if you suspect your child may have symptoms, or if you have general questions about autism spectrum disorder. With so much misinformation out there, getting the facts is crucial.

Medically reviewed in June 2019.

6 Autism Myths Busted

For years scientists have been trying to understand <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/videos/What-Causes-Autism-2288883661001-2289536881001/" target="_blank">autism</a> spectrum disorders and the causes behind it. Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2014)&nbsp;adds mounting evidence that autism could begin as early as the second trimester of pregnancy.

Researchers from the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine examined samples of brain tissue from 22 children who died, half of whom had been diagnosed with autism. The scientists found that 10 out of 11 children with autism showed patches of disrupted development in the neocortex, the region of the brain that controls comprehension, reasoning and language.

During the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/2nd-trimester-of-pregnancy/what-happens-second-trimester-pregnancy" target="_blank">second trimester of pregnancy</a> the cortex normally develops into six distinct layers, each made up of its own specialized brain cells. But in children with autism, the researchers saw patches in which the layers appeared jumbled and disorganized, or where certain cells were missing. Most of these patches were concentrated in areas of the brain that handle functions that are impaired by autism, such as language and understanding social cues. &ldquo;This builds on prior research, clearly defining autism as a neurobiological disorder that happens very early in life,&rdquo; says <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/user/dr-daniel-amen" target="_blank">Daniel Amen, MD</a>, a psychiatrist, brain imaging expert and the founder of Amen Clinics.

Pregnant? Here&rsquo;s What You Can Do 
There&rsquo;s no need for alarm if you&rsquo;re pregnant. &ldquo;I think autism is the result of a gene-environmental interaction,&rdquo; Dr. Amen says. &ldquo;People cannot do much about the genes they inherit, but there is a new concept called epigenetics that says your behavior turns on or off certain genes that make illnesses more likely in their offspring.&rdquo; By practicing healthy habits like eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of sleep (6 to 8 hours) and avoiding pesticides and other <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-pregnancy/what-toxins-avoid-during-pregnancy" target="_blank">toxic chemicals</a>, Amen says you may be able to help control certain genes that may predispose your unborn child to autism. &nbsp;

Future Treatment 
Autism has no cure, but some children appear to improve as they get older, and early intervention with behavioral and speech therapies can help. This study could explain why. Because the researchers found the disorganized layers only in patches of the cortex, as opposed to covering the entire brain, they believe that the normal-appearing parts may be able to rewire themselves to take over for the affected patches. Still, much is unknown. &ldquo;The fact that there are brain abnormalities in this way do not yet give us a clear direction for treatment,&rdquo; Amen says. The hope is that future studies will point to therapies that can help with that process.&nbsp;

Autism May Begin Well Before Birth

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/are-autism-spectrum-disorders">Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) </a>affect 1 in 59 children, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These numbers are up from 1 in 150 children diagnosed with a disorder in 2000.

What&rsquo;s going on? Is autism <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/autism-diagnoses-on-the-rise" target="_blank" title="Autism diagnoses on the rise">really increasing&mdash;</a>exploding might be a better word&mdash;or are doctors just more sensitive to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd-symptoms/common-signs-of-autism" target="_blank" title="Common signs of autism">signs of the problem</a> than they used to be? If autism is on the rise, what&rsquo;s fueling that rise? And what can we&mdash;parents, friends, professionals&mdash;do to help a child with autism or a related disorder? We asked Geri Dawson, PhD, chief science officer of Autism Speaks, the nation&#39;s largest autism science and advocacy organization, what the recent research tells us.

Even the new numbers may be an underestimate 
Dawson has said that the new numbers make it clear that autism is a public health emergency. But, she told us, the problem may be even more prevalent than the new report suggests. An Autism Speaks-funded study, which made its estimate in a different way, found that one in 38 children have an autism spectrum disorder. &ldquo;I know&mdash;it&rsquo;s shocking,&rdquo; Dawson says.

It&rsquo;s not clear which estimate gets closer to the truth. The CDC findings come from looking at children who have been <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/how-is-autism-diagnosed" target="_blank" title="How is autism diagnosed?">diagnosed</a> with ASD in 14 states, while the other researchers screened schoolchildren in South Korea to try to include kids with the disorder who had never been diagnosed. Autism Speaks is now funding a similar &ldquo;wide net&rdquo; study in the United States in collaboration with the CDC. Stay tuned for those results.

We&rsquo;ll never find the cause of autism 
That&rsquo;s because there isn&rsquo;t a single cause. &ldquo;Autism is not one condition but many different conditions with many different causes,&rdquo; Dawson says. The good news: We&rsquo;re getting clearer on what some of those causes are.

Scientists have identified hundreds of genes that can raise risk, including some that can cause the disorder on their own, such as in <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/genetic-disorders/what-is-fragile-x-syndrome" target="_blank" title="Fragile X Syndrome">Fragile X syndrome</a>. We&rsquo;re also getting a better picture of other factors that may raise risk, for instance, the age of either parent when the child is conceived. If a woman gets enough <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/vitamin-b9/folic-acid-reduce-birth-defects" target="_blank" title="Folic acid reduce birth defects?">folic acid during pregnancy</a>, that may help protect her child&mdash;another reason to take those prenatal vitamins. And some studies suggest that exposure to air pollution or pesticides may add risk for vulnerable children.

Researchers are now following high-risk infants (ones who have a sibling with an autism disorder) from conception in order to get a better handle on possible autism triggers. &ldquo;Those studies are going to be really informative about what factors play a more significant role,&rdquo; Dawson says. The first results should come in the next year or so.

Treatment is getting better 
It&rsquo;s clear that <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/why-early-diagnosis-autism-critical" target="_blank" title="Why early diagnoses autism critical">early, intense behavioral intervention</a> can have dramatic benefits for kids with ASD, Dawson says, increasing a child&rsquo;s IQ and language ability and reducing some of the difficult behaviors that are a hallmark of the disorder. Now a number of groups are trying to identify autism earlier so the treatments could start earlier, too. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the focus of a lot of work right now,&rdquo; Dawson says.

How much earlier? Instead of preschool age&mdash;which is when &quot;early&quot; treatment now generally starts&mdash;researchers are working on ways to detect autism in infants, and on&nbsp;interventions that could be used for infants and toddlers.&nbsp;In a number of studies, parents are being taught everyday strategies to help engage their baby socially and stimulate early language development. Results of that research will start coming out soon, too.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very excited about this area of research,&rdquo; Dawson says. &ldquo;Not only do we hope children will have a more positive outcome, but this approach also empowers parents.&rdquo;

Autism: Reasons for Concern, Hope

An important brain chemical may not work correctly in people with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders">autism</a>, according to researchers from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This exciting -- but very early -- finding could help explain how autism happens and, one day, potentially open the door to new ways of diagnosing and treating it.

The chemical, called GABA, sends signals between different parts of the brain, explains <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/user/dr-keith-roach">Keith Roach, MD</a>, chief medical officer at Sharecare. In a nutshell, GABA helps calm, or turn down the volume, of brain cell activity. This helps the brain work in a more orderly way.

Scientists have been interested in GABA&rsquo;s role in autism for a while. It&rsquo;s often said that autism is a problem in which the brain is flooded with information at once, the researchers explained. And people with autism frequently have seizures, which are caused by nerve signals firing uncontrollably. Both of these suggest that GABA isn&rsquo;t working normally.

In their study, the researchers performed brain scans while people received a certain type of vision test that measures how well the brain filters out information. People with autism struggled with the test, and GABA activity didn&rsquo;t increase as it should.

No test yet 
It&rsquo;s possible that similar tests could someday be developed to help diagnose autism in very young children. But that&rsquo;s a long way off.

&ldquo;This is the first step of many steps,&rdquo; says Dr. Roach. Much more work is needed to understand GABA&rsquo;s role in autism. Many other brain chemicals may be involved in the disorder, too. And since autism is not one disease but rather a <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/are-autism-spectrum-disorders">spectrum of disorders</a>, the chemicals may work differently from person to person.

&ldquo;This is the beginning of some understanding of what might be the root cause of autism,&rdquo; Roach adds, &ldquo;but it doesn&#39;t yet provide guidance in making a diagnosis or improving the lives of people with autism.&rdquo;

Medically reviewed in February 2020.

Brain Chemical May Be Linked to Autism

Autism, a developmental disorder that affects about one out of 68 U.S. children, typically involves communication and learning difficulties. It&rsquo;s a spectrum disorder, meaning it can come with a wide range of possible symptoms and sometimes, special talents. For many kids and families,<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/what-is-autism"> autism</a> presents challenges at school and home that interfere with daily life.

But a small, preliminary study from Duke University may offer some hope for these families. Researchers gave 25 children with autism infusions of their own umbilical cord blood. They wanted to see if the stem cells within the blood would have any effect on the kids&rsquo; symptoms, and to find out if the infusions were safe.

Over two-thirds of the children did experience improvements. Symptom changes were reported by parents and observed by researchers during physical, behavioral and reasoning tests.

Since the treatment didn&rsquo;t cause any major side effects, it will move on to the next phase of research; a larger study to be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Room for optimism, but still a long way to go 
Despite these positive results, researchers caution that it&rsquo;s far too soon to get excited or jump to conclusions about what this study could mean in the future.

&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to mislead people and claim it&rsquo;s working before we have definitive proof,&rdquo; Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, one of the lead researchers and head of the Robertson Clinical and Translational Cell Therapy Program at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, told CNN.

The study, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, is just one small step towards understanding the potential of this treatment. There are limitations to the study because:

<ul>
	<li>It only included 25 participants, so it&rsquo;s impossible to predict whether the same results will be seen among the population in general.</li>
	<li>It was an open-label study, so parents and doctors knew that every child was receiving the actual treatment, and not just <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/medical-research/what-is-placebo">a placebo</a>. That knowledge could have affected their assessments of the children&rsquo;s behavior.</li>
	<li>It took place over a full year, but autism symptoms may improve somewhat around preschool age, so the results could have come from natural growth and development.</li>
	<li>Scientists still don&rsquo;t know exactly why the treatment had the effects it did. One possible explanation is that stems cells reduce brain inflammation, which may play a role in autism.</li>
</ul>

Despite these limitations, the stories of family members have sparked optimism. CNN reports that one child&rsquo;s learning has accelerated to the point that she&rsquo;s now able to attend a mainstream, rather than a specialized school. She also has far fewer tantrums and welcomes hugs from family members. (Many people with autism have touch aversion due to sensory processing issues and trouble regulating their emotional responses.)

Cases like this are a source of hope, but again, more research is needed to confirm that similar outcomes are possible among the general population.

What&rsquo;s next? 
Phase II research will include 165 children with autism between ages two and eight. Kids may receive their own umbilical cord blood, cord blood from a donor or a placebo. After receiving the treatment, they&rsquo;ll undergo a series of behavioral and reasoning tests, along with brain imaging.

Six months later, they&rsquo;ll return for another round of treatment. Except this time, they&rsquo;ll receive the placebo if they got cord blood initially, and cord blood if they first received the placebo. Researchers chose this type of study, called a crossover trial, because they wanted every child to experience any positive outcomes&mdash;but they still need to compare the treatment against placebo to determine if it&rsquo;s truly working.&nbsp;

To learn more about phase II testing, call 844-800-CORD or email&nbsp;cordbloodtherapyinfo@dm.duke.edu&nbsp;or&nbsp;autismresearch@duke.edu. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders">Read more about autism.</a>

Medically reviewed in April 2018.

Early Stem Cell Study Offers Hope for Children With Autism

In the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Akyroyd were perfectly cast as the A-team of nerdy paranormal investigators.&nbsp;But Akyroyd, one of the authors of the screenplay, was especially suited to the project. He has <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/aspersers-syndrome/what-is-aspergers-syndrome">Asperger&rsquo;s</a> (a condition that&rsquo;s an autism spectrum disease) and that, he says, triggered his obsession with ghosts and law enforcement&mdash;he often carries a police badge and was fixated on Hans Holzer, a renowned ghost hunter&mdash;and sparked the idea for the film.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/what-is-autism">Autism spectrum disease (ASD)</a> is getting more prevalent and may be triggered by a combination of environmental damage and genetic (inherited or epigenetic) predisposition. Treatments have been elusive, but a study in JAMA Pediatrics found diagnosing children as early as 14 months allows for earlier intensive behavioral interventions&mdash;often having far-reaching benefits for the rest of a child&rsquo;s life. And a study published in Scientific Reports offers yet another way to manage ASD symptoms in children: Microbiota transfer, a special form of fecal transplant.

Researchers found that two years after the transfer the 18 ASD-diagnosed study participants showed a 45 percent decrease in symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems. And while 83 percent were rated as having &quot;severe&quot; autism when the study began, two years after treatment, 17 percent were &quot;severe,&quot; 39 percent were &quot;mild/moderate,&quot; and 44 percent were below the cut-off for mild ASD.

If your child has&mdash;or may have&mdash;ASD, talk to your doc about behavioral therapies and discuss the benefits of the microbiota transfer.

Medically reviewed in February 2020.

Easing ASD Symptoms: A Gut Instinct

If you&rsquo;ve ever been to a Cleveland Indians home baseball game, chances are about 100 percent that you&rsquo;ve heard a tom-tom drum echoing from the top bleacher seats. The drummer, since 1973, is a guy named John Adams, a retired AT&amp;T worker who, besides attending home games, co-teaches a graduate level course at Cleveland State University on aquatics for kids with disabilities.

We&rsquo;re pretty sure Adams would be delighted to know&mdash;if he doesn&rsquo;t already&mdash;that drumming does more than rev up a sports crowd. It helps <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/article/news-autism-affects-children-cdc">children diagnosed with autism</a> improve their motor control and enhances their powers of concentration and communication.

According to a new study, autistic children who drum for 60 minutes a week experience vast improvement in dexterity, rhythm and overall timing along with an improved ability to concentrate on their homework. And the benefits don&rsquo;t stop there.

Teachers told the researchers that their autistic students who played the drums were also better able to follow instructions, and their social interactions and communication with peers, adults and the school staff improved significantly.

So if you know someone who has autism or someone who has a child with autism, suggest they give &ldquo;The Kit&rdquo; (as Ringo Starr calls a drum set) a try&mdash;either a traditional model or a newer electronic drum (great &rsquo;cause you can control the volume). Check local <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/alternative-medicines/article/music-really-does-soothe-the-soul-and-so-much-more">music</a> stores for info on lessons. Then you&rsquo;ll discover if you are&mdash;or are related to&mdash;a budding Buddy Rich or an emerging Shelia E.

Medically reviewed in February 2020.

How Children with Autism Can Benefit from Drumming

While many children with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/article/6-autism-myths-busted" rel="noreferrer noopener">autism spectrum disorders </a>(ASDs) don&#39;t show signs until well into toddlerhood, there&#39;s good evidence some clues may be observable even before their first birthday. Other symptoms will likely appear by the time they turn 2 years old.&nbsp;

Though these behaviors may not necessarily point to autism, being aware of them can help parents and guardians get early diagnosis and treatment&mdash;crucial to a child&#39;s overall development and function.&nbsp;

The first signs&nbsp; 
An absence of social back-and-forth is one of the&nbsp;early signs of autism in babies.&nbsp;In their first year, if a baby isn&#39;t smiling, making eye contact or attempting to communicate through expressions and sounds, it may signal an issue.&nbsp;

&ldquo;As early as 9 months&mdash;this is the earliest visit where I&rsquo;ll pick up on things, such as not responding to their own name and poor eye contact,&rdquo; says Sierra&nbsp;Coartney, DO, a pediatrician at LewisGale&nbsp;Physicians in Salem, Virginia. &ldquo;It&#39;s increasingly concerning if a child has still not acquired these skills by 12 months,&rdquo;&nbsp;she adds.&nbsp;

At 1 year, children should have begun to communicate using hand gestures, like waving or reaching for things. Babbling&mdash;making noises that may imitate grown-up speech patterns&mdash;is also typical by this age. A lack of either could&nbsp;be a sign of autism in a&nbsp;1&nbsp;year old.&nbsp;&quot;If they&#39;re not babbling by 9 months or saying one or two words by 1 year, then their speech is considered&nbsp;delayed,&quot; says Dr.&nbsp;Coartney. &quot;Speech delay coupled with poor social skills especially raises concern for autism.&quot;&nbsp;

At this stage, if you call your child&#39;s name and there&#39;s no reaction, it could be a cause for concern, as well. Don&#39;t be alarmed if they don&#39;t respond to an unfamiliar face, though.&nbsp;Coartney&nbsp;says not acknowledging someone new, like a recently hired babysitter, isn&#39;t necessarily a sign of developmental delay.&nbsp;

Another possible clue, however: poor joint attention skills. When an 8- or 10-month-old baby discovers something appealing, they&#39;ll frequently use gestures to try to catch your eye and share what they&#39;ve found. They&#39;ll often look at you to make sure you&#39;re paying attention, too, and follow your gazes and gestures. These are social interactions children with ASD don&#39;t show much interest in&mdash;and their absence is considered a hallmark of the condition, especially by the second year.&nbsp;

Clues after the first year&nbsp; 
Between the ages of 12 and 24 months, previous&nbsp;early&nbsp;signs of&nbsp;autism, like a lack of interaction, may become more pronounced, and other new clues might surface. These could include:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>No verbal development&mdash;no words at 16 months, and no simple phrases that convey meaning at 24 months&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Strange body or hand movements, like rocking, hand flapping or excessive clapping&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Babbling that sounds like whining or humming&nbsp;</li>
	<li>An unusual fixation with a particular object, like a toy&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Losing a gained ability, like language&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

&quot;Tantrums that are out of proportion, [perhaps] in response to a change in routine, an overwhelming environment or sounds that do not bother other children, such as background noise in a restaurant,&quot; are another sign, says&nbsp;Coartney. A child not getting their way is a more typical cause for a meltdown, she adds.&nbsp;

Plans for treatment&nbsp; 
It&#39;s important to note: While these early behaviors may point to autism, they could indicate a different health issue. &quot;A speech delay can be a sign of autism or a range of medical conditions, such as a hearing problem,&quot; says&nbsp;Coartney. &quot;It may be an isolated finding that still needs addressed, though it&#39;s not associated with any other development problems.&quot; They may also mean nothing at all&mdash;and simply be part of your child&#39;s development.&nbsp;

In addition to looking for&nbsp;early signs of autism&nbsp;at all well baby visits, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends pediatricians screen for ASD as part of well visits at 18 and 24 months. Many use a test called the M-CHAT, a 20-point questionnaire followed by an interview. &quot;A child is evaluated for language and communication, social skills, motor skills and for any atypical behaviors seen in ASD,&quot; says&nbsp;Coartney. It may also be useful for detecting developmental delays in general.&nbsp;

However, you can&mdash;and should&mdash;reach out to your child&#39;s pediatrician at any time if you&#39;re concerned about the potential for ASD. They can perform a screening, and if signs point toward a possible problem, recommend a formal evaluation. Pediatricians should also screen for conditions that often occur with autism, including speech and feeding delays, as well as gastrointestinal problems. Autism can be diagnosed reliably by age 2, though most cases aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;identified until age 4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&mdash;often because adults don&#39;t recognize the clues.&nbsp;

An early diagnosis of autism means earlier intervention&mdash;the most effective way of improving outcomes for a child. &quot;Early intervention is a system of services available in every state for children under 3 to address development delays, including in areas of speech and communication, fine and gross motor skills, cognitive skills, social skills and emotional skills,&quot; says&nbsp;Coartney.&nbsp;

Pediatricians should refer children for intervention at the first indication of a problem, even if it&rsquo;s before age 2. Every state provides resources and at least some funding for the services; speak to your healthcare provider or get in touch with <a href="http://ectacenter.org/contact/ptccoord.asp" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">your state&#39;s Part C coordinator</a> for more information.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in March 2018. Updated in February 2021.&nbsp;

Sources&nbsp;

Autism Speaks. &ldquo;Learn the Signs of Autism.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
UpToDate.com. &ldquo;Autism spectrum disorder: Surveillance and screening in primary care.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
Jones EA,&nbsp;Carr&nbsp;EG. Joint Attention in Children With Autism: Theory and Intervention. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 2004. 19(1), 13&ndash;26.&nbsp; 
Autism Science Foundation. &ldquo;Early Signs of Autism.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
UC San Diego School of Medicine. &ldquo;Treating Autism Early.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
HealthyChildren.org. &ldquo;How Pediatricians Screen for Autism.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
Zwaigenbaum&nbsp;L,  Bauman ML, et al. &ldquo;Early Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Practice and Research.&rdquo; Pediatrics. October 2015, 136 (Supplement 1) S41-S59.&nbsp; 
Toh&nbsp;TH, Tan VW, et al. &ldquo;Accuracy of Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in Detecting Autism and Other Developmental Disorders in Community Clinics.&rdquo; J Autism Dev&nbsp;Disord. 2018 Jan;48(1):28-35.&nbsp; 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. &ldquo;Data &amp; Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
Understood.org. &ldquo;Early Intervention: What You Need to Know,&rdquo; &ldquo;Early Intervention Services: Who Pays for What.&quot;

Do You Know the Early Signs of Autism?

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that the United States rate of autism diagnoses continues to climb. In 2016, the CDC&#39;s tracking system estimated that 1 in 68 children in 11 analyzed communities had the disorder (based on data from 2012). Now, looking at 2014 figures, the CDC estimates that number is 1 in 59, or approximately 1.7 percent of kids. That&#39;s a 15 percent surge in two years, and a 150 percent jump since 2000. New Jersey again has the highest diagnosis rates, with 3 percent of children statewide thought to have the condition.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an umbrella term for a range of issues that may affect cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. It has no single cause, though there are multiple known <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd-causes/article/what-really-increases-risk-autism">risk factors</a>, and signs typically surface in early childhood. ASD is lifelong, though intervention can greatly improve a child&#39;s skills&mdash;especially if treatment is started early.

A deeper dive 
To reach their conclusions, the CDC looked at data from their Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which tracks more than 300,000 8-year-olds in 11 communities across different states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The CDC notes in their report these communities are not representative of the entire US and findings can&#39;t be generalized to all 8-year-olds.

Part of the reason for the rise in diagnoses may be an actual increase in the prevalence of autism. However, the CDC attributes a large part of the higher rate to this: we&#39;re getting better at recognizing the disorder.

For instance, researchers found that ASD is being spotted in black and Hispanic children more often than it was previously, likely due to increased awareness in minority communities. Girls, too, are being identified with autism more frequently, as experts are better able to pick out their early signs, which can differ from those seen in boys. White males still have highest rates of ASD, but the new data indicates other groups may be slowly closing the gap.

Other reasons for the rate surge may be changes to the criteria for autism over the years&mdash;which may encompass a wider range of children&mdash;and a greater availability of good early interventional services, which may make parents more likely to jump on them.

These factors may explain the differential among states, as well. New Jersey, which has the highest rate of autism diagnoses in the nation, is a relatively wealthy state with several big cities and substantial access to autism resources. Arkansas, where the rate is around 1.3 percent, is more rural and has comparatively fewer resources.

Importance of early detection 
Another important takeaway from the CDC study: children are still being diagnosed for ASD at 4 years old, on average. Since early intervention is crucial to improving outcomes&mdash;and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders/article/know-earliest-signs-autism">signs of the disorder</a> can surface before a child turns 1&mdash;this represents room for improvement.

While most children are regularly screened for autism by their pediatrician, if you believe your child may be showing signs, it&#39;s important to speak up. Your doctor can screen at any time and refer additional services. Every US state provides some early intervention, as well; reach out to <a href="http://ectacenter.org/contact/ptccoord.asp" target="_blank">your state&#39;s Part C coordinator</a> for additional information.

Medically reviewed in April 2018.

News: Autism Affects 1 in 59 Children, CDC Says

Sarah Jessica Parker did it. So did Gwyneth Paltrow. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fertility-pregnancy-childbirth/quizzes/quiz-pregnancy-pop-quiz">Pregnancy</a> inspired them to get healthier. In a nutshell (make it walnuts!), they focused on regimens like the Mediterranean diet &ndash; whole grains, no processed foods (fish and lean meats for Ms. Parker; Ms. Paltrow is a strict vegan), low-carb veggies and lots of fruit. And they got 10,000 steps a day. (For aerobic workouts and swimming, one minute equals 100 steps; gardening equals 60 steps a minute. For more equivalents see Dr. Mike&rsquo;s book, This is Your Do-Over.) Clearly, they know how important it is for moms-to-be to be healthy in order to have healthy kids.

Recently, researchers from Johns Hopkins came to the same conclusion. They found offspring of mothers who were obese and had diabetes before they conceived or developed gestational diabetes were four times more likely to be diagnosed with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders">autism spectrum disorder (ASD)</a> than children of normal-weight, diabetes-free moms. Finally, one reasonable theory about why this developmental handicap is so widespread today!

Here are the facts:

<ul>
	<li>Cases of autism among U.S. kids have increased from 1 in 150 in 2000, to 1 in 68 in 2010. That&rsquo;s up 119.4 percent!</li>
	<li>In 1983, 24 percent of newly pregnant women were overweight or obese. In 2015, it was 45 percent -- almost a 100 percent increase.</li>
	<li>From 1987 to 2007 the incidence of gestational diabetes increased 100 percent.</li>
</ul>

Now this doesn&rsquo;t mean thin, non-diabetic women can&rsquo;t have offspring with this condition, it just means obesity and diabetes is associated with an increased risk.

Medically reviewed in April 2018.