PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — New data from the CDC shows more children than ever before are being diagnosed with Autism. However, researchers cautioned that the rise in diagnoses doesn't necessarily mean autism spectrum disorder is becoming more common.
Twenty years ago, 1 in 150 eight-year-old kids had Autism. The CDC now says it's 1 in 36 8-year-old children.
The Eddy family is all too familiar with these stats as both of their young daughters have Autism, except their youngest daughter was diagnosed much earlier, rather than the year it took to diagnose and get treatment for their oldest daughter.
"We have two daughters. They are both diagnosed with Autism," mom, Eired Eddy, explained.
They're not alone. Dr. Callie Gilchrest, with Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, said there's not one factor contributing to the rise in rates.
"We know that increased awareness and acceptance of the diagnosis definitely contributes. We also have better early screening practices as well. So, pediatricians are screening more consistently and earlier on for signs and symptoms of Autism," Dr. Gilchrest said.
This is the first time the CDC has shown that Autism among eight-year-old girls was higher than 1 percent.
"Autism is very different in both of our girls. So it really goes to show you that this truly is a spectrum," Eddy added.
Some common symptoms early on are delays in speech and certain facial expressions.
"They may also have a hard time responding to their name or responding to others in general when others are trying to get their attention," Dr. Gilchrest explained.
Symptoms may be harder to spot than they were for Nicholas and Eired. They said it took over a year to get a diagnosis and treatment for their oldest daughter.
"For such a long time with our first daughter, I'm getting a little emotional; we felt like we were falling her somehow because we didn't know and all we saw were these symptoms getting worse and worse... We had to push… We got the appointment, level 2 autism," Eddy said.
The Eddys encourage parents to trust their gut and maybe seek a second opinion. They said they were able to get a diagnosis for their two-year-old within a matter of months as screening and awareness continue to grow.
"My children are brilliant. My kids are so smart and talented, and empathetic and sweet and energetic and have such a zest for life... I feel really hopeful about the future," Eddy explained.
