Epidemiological Diagnostic and Treatment Trends of Autism in the Tri-State Area

I would like to analyze a few epidemiological patterns on autism diagnosis’s and treatment that may help to enlighten the increasing incidence of autism.

Epidemiological data collected from online surveys conducted by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) show that in the state of Connecticut, 41% of families with a member with autism reported that this member was diagnosed with autistic disorder, in comparison with 35% in the state of NY and 38% in the state of NJ. The tri-state area shows a lower percentage of autistic individuals diagnosed with autistic disorder when compared with the entire nation with 44%. However, the state of NY and NJ show higher percentage of individuals diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise specified (PDD, NOS), 42% and 33% respectably when compared with 29% in the nation,. The state of Connecticut shows 14% of individuals diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in comparison with 10% in NY with and 9% in NJ. However, the state of Connecticut shows a similar percentage as the nation with 15% of individuals diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. This data indicates how autism spectrum diagnosis’s varies in the tri-state area from the national pattern. Although diagnosis data is reported by the parent and is not based on medical charts or on school reports, this data seems to suggest that in the tri-state area, PDD, NOS represents a difference to the national pattern.

Another interesting parameter is the type of treatment used. We have hundreds of autism treatments available. Many types of treatments have little or no clear scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. In the tri-state area the top treatment has been Speech and Language Therapy with 71% in NY, 70% in NJ and 67% in CT, which are all higher with respect to the national trend of 65%. Occupational therapy ranked in second place with 62% in NY and NJ and 60% in CT, higher than the national percentage of 52%. Moreover, state use of medications such as psychotropic drugs differs from the national pattern of 40%, when compared with 38% in NY, 32% in NJ and 33% in CT. The use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is greater in the tri-state area (NY 42%, NJ 54% and CT 43%) in comparison with the national pattern of 29%. The state of NJ ranked higher in the use of ABA than NY and CT.

One way of interpret these diagnostic and treatment trends is to view them as a reflection of state changes in diagnostic practices, such as improved identification, availability of services, and other similar factors.

[Disclaimer: the data presented here is based on information submitted over the internet by parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from the United States who volunteered to participate in the Interactive Autism Network survey developed by Kennedy Krieger Institute and sponsored by Autism Speaks.]