According to the six-year study, researchers believe the number of children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is much higher than previously believed, according to a new study published Monday in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
By looking at a total population sample in South Korea, the study authors estimate that 1 in 38 children in the country or 2.64% has some form of autism. The approach is a new one. Previously, researchers have examined only children known to have the neurological disorder or at high risk of developing it.
In the United States, the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for autism prevalence are about 1% or 1 in 110 children, based on population studies in a select number of areas around the country.
In this new study, researchers looked at all 55,000 school children in a large metropolitan community of Seoul, which they say is representative not only of South Korea, but also many other developed nations.
According to the study, researchers began with 55,266 7- to 12-year-old students. Parents and teachers were asked to fill out an autism-screening questionnaire. Parents of 23,234 of the children in the regular school system responded. All 294 children already enrolled in special education or on the disability registry were considered to have tested positive for an autism spectrum disorder.
From the initial assessments, 1,214 students screened positive for some form of autism. Only 286 went on to get a full clinical evaluation, of which 201 were diagnosed with some form of autism. Using mathematical algorithms, researchers estimate 1 in 38 children in South Korea have an autism spectrum disorder.
However, experts said the findings did not mean that the actual numbers of children with autism were rising, simply that the study was more comprehensive than previous ones.
Most cases of autism spectrum disorder in the Korean study, the researchers said, turned up among children in regular schools who had no record of receiving special education or mental health services. A third was found among a “high-probability group” of 294 children who were attending special-education schools or were listed on a registry of disabled children.
(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com