Have the incidence and prevalence of autism increased significantly during the most recent decade?
We dont know if autism/ASD incidence and prevalence have increased significantly. There is not a full population count of all individuals with autism or ASD in the United States, and there has never been such a population study. Determining trends in autism prevalence is also challenging due to the relative scarcity of past studies on ASD prevalence and the fact that many early studies used different methods and a narrower definition of autism. Although there have been some recent studies on autism prevalence trends, taken as a whole, their findings are inconclusive as to whether the apparent increase in prevalence is a result of increased diagnosis and awareness, and, if so, to what extent. Additional population-based monitoring is needed to assess prevalence trends, but, regardless of the past prevalence of autism, it is clear that more children are now being diagnosed than were 1030 years ago.
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