According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hispanic and Black children are being diagnosed with autism more than white children in the U.S for the first time ever. In 2020, the CDC calculated that out of every 8-year-old in the country, 1 in 36 had autism.
Symptoms of it include delays in learning, emotional withdrawal and problems with language development. An uncommon desire for routine is also considered a symptom. That’s a noticeable increase from 1 in 44 from just 2 years prior. However, the rate increased for children of color as opposed to white children.
The report notes that around 3% of Hispanic, Black and Asian/Pacific Islander kids are diagnosed with autism, compared with about 2% of white kids. Back in 2010, white children were 30% more likely to receive an autism diagnosis than Black children. Additionally, they were also 50% more likely than Hispanic children to be diagnosed.
Professionals believe this increase is a result better screening and autism services for all children. There has also been expanded advocacy for families of color. Black and Hispanic students have always had less access to autism resources but that’s changed over the last several years.
In the U.S., the rate of autism has been rising for years. It also is more prevalent in boys than girls. The CDC also issued a second report Thursday that examined how common autism was in 4-year-old children.
Rose Donohue, a psychiatrist at Washington University, stated that Black kids have always been diagnosed at later ages than their white kids similar in age. The study of 4-year-olds revealed that autism was less prevalent in white kids in 2020 than it was for Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander children.
The onset of coronavirus disrupted them from being diagnosed in a timely fashion.