Prevalence of Autism, and Relevance of the Diagnosis

A study in South Korea finds a high prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among children in regular schools — but how much special care do high-functioning children require?

Many population estimates of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are based on patients in specialized facilities (e.g., CDC estimate, 1/110). Because children with ASD who have language and IQs within the normal range (i.e., those with Asperger syndrome) may be in mainstream classrooms, ASD prevalence calculated from special settings alone may result in an underestimate. These researchers investigated the prevalence of ASD in both specialty and mainstream schools within a specific area of South Korea (N=55,256 children aged 7 to 12 years). In a two-stage process, parents who consented completed the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ); children above a cut-off score were then given comprehensive autism assessments. For children in sp…

Reviewing Author

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose