Autism in Florida children is on the rise, new research shows

The number of children with autism disorders appears to be increasing in Florida and across the nation, research released today shows.

One in every 110 American 8-year-olds is likely to be diagnosed with a disability falling within the autism spectrum, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention review of 2006 data. That's a 57 percent increase over totals collected in a similar study in 2002.

"We're in the midst of a changing picture here," said Catherine Rice, a CDC behavioral scientist and lead author of the study that took place in 11 states.

Since 2000, the CDC has been collecting data about autism, with the hopes that it can find some answers to the baffling neurological condition. The first report estimated that seven of every 1,000 children lived with a form of autism.

Today's findings roughly translate to 1 percent of children having an autism disorder, which can vary from mild impairment to profound developmental disorders that affect speech, social interaction and cognitive ability. Before 1990, scientists estimated that autism affected about 1 in every 2,000 children.

This latest analysis of more than 307,000 children included for the first time data from Florida. Researchers at the University of Miami assessed more than 27,000 children living in Miami Dade County and reported autism prevalence rates lower than in many of the other states.

But Florida's results did reflect national findings that boys were far more likely to be diagnosed than girls. The study found that 1 of every 70 boys and 1 of every 315 girls fell on the autism spectrum.

Comparative data from the 10 other states found that the overall prevalence of autism increased, as did the prevalence of the number of children with autism reported to have borderline, average or above average intelligence.

Rice said the overall increases could be the result of increased public awareness, a broader understanding and clinical definition of autism spectrum disorders, or a true numeric increase.

The report does not look at the potential causes of autism and emphasizes the need for more research, Rice said.

"There is no single explanation," Rice said. "There are multiple factors at play."

The new findings affirm a study released in October from the journal Pediatrics, which found a parent-reported autism prevalence rate of one in every 91 American children, including one in 58 boys. That study used data gathered as part of the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, a national survey directed and funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the CDC.

The surge of attention that comes whenever new numbers are announced helps autism organizations promote awareness and can help bring in research dollars, said Dr. Karen Berkman, executive director of the Center of Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of South Florida.

"We have known that there has been growth in numbers over the last 10 to 15 years," she said. "And there has been an increase in interest because of that."