A new government study suggests that the prevalence of autism has been significantly undercounted.  More than 2 percent or 1 in every 45 American children may have autism spectrum disorder, a condition that impairs communication and social skills.

As reported in La Times, the new report prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics reveals that a survey of American parents shows as many as 2.24 percent of children has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or ASD.

However, in 2011 and 2013, the National Survey of Children's Health shows 1.25 of U.S. children suffered from ASD.  According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, there were and estimated of 1.47 percent of American children suffering.  That's about 1 in every 68 American children.

The steady growth of autism in children was also brought by the changes in the surveying techniques.  Researchers have designed the questionnaires to stimulate parents' memories for past diagnoses their children may have gotten.   With the rising awareness of ASD and a thrust for earlier diagnosis and intervention, those parents who have reported an intellectual disability or other neurocognitive disorder in the past are now more likely to report autism spectrum disorder.

The latest survey in 2014 shows a 26 percent drop of parents who considers a child as having some "other developmental delay", from 4.84 percent in 2011-2013 down to 3.57 percent in 2014.  More so, percentage of parents who had children diagnosed with an intellectual disability also dropped, from 1.27 percent in 2011-2013 to 1.1 percent in 2014.

Authors of the new report explain that the new questionnaire is probably more sensitive in capturing the full population of children with autism spectrum disorder compared to the 2011-2013 data.

However, the authors also cautioned that the new report may over represent the number of children who currently have diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.  They noted that those children who lost their original diagnosis might have been included in the new numbers since parents were asked if a child may have ever received a diagnosis, not necessarily the current state of the said child.

Despite evidence that some children improve with treatment; these children were still counted in the new survey.

Since the new study shows that the rate of autism nearly doubled with the change of survey questions, do you think this is quite alarming?  Do you find this article helpful?  Let us know with your comments below.