From the MAHA report: Autism spectrum disorder (page 12) impacts 1 in 31 children by age 8 and is estimated to be 3.4 times more common in boys than girls, according to the CDC. 22 Rates also vary significantly by state – from 9.7 per 1,000 in Texas (Laredo) to 53 per 1,000 in California.23 In 1960, autism occurred in less than 1 in 10,000 children. In the 1980s, autism occurred at rates of 1 to 4 out of 10,000 children.
From Dr Sachs: Let's start a debate as to why this graph looks the way it does. Are new things really causing Autism to increase? Are we better at detecting Autism? Are we overdiagnosing Autism? Are we mislabeling children that called "quirky," "weird," "introverts," and other "atypical" adjectives? Why is there a difference in autism rates from Texas to California? Does location really matter? So many questions...what an intellectually stimulating piece of research!
