What the rise in autism diagnoses means for schools and families
The rise in autism identification among 8-year-olds has gone from 1 in 150 in 2000 to 1 in 31 today, and the change comes from how children are screened. Schools carry the resulting caseload, while families have to understand their evaluation timelines and what their insurance covers.
Older people who grew up pre-2000 might feel like they’re hearing more about autism lately, in particular the people being diagnosed. CDC figures identified 1 in 150 8-year-olds back in 2000, but in the most recent data, they’ve identified autism in 1 in 31 8-year-olds.
So why is this happening, and what does the rise in autism diagnosis mean for schools and families?
What the Autism Increase Actually Measures
According to the CDC, these figures come from 16 monitoring sites across the United States. The figures demonstrate that the increase in diagnosis must come from the screening process itself rather than an increase in autism naturally occurring.
In Laredo, Texas, 1 in 103 children is diagnosed, whereas 1 in 19 is in California. It’s not that living in either of these two places increases the risk of autism; it’s that the relevant authorities and the healthcare system use different standards for identifying autism in their children and identifying the symptoms.
The overall rise in autism in the last few years is down to greater autism awareness and our increased understanding of how it presents, meaning that kids with lower support needs are no longer slipping through the cracks.
The Impact on Public Education
Around 7.5 million students aged between 3 and 21 were in special education in 2022-2023. Autism accounts for about 14% of school-age students with disabilities, so roughly 1 in 7 students on an IEP is under the autism category.
Autism drove about 43% of growth in school-age special education enrollment. When nearly half of the caseload nationally comes from a single category, it’s a strong indicator that schools need to change their approach to hiring specialists to meet the requirements of students.
Supporting Autism in Schools
An autism eligibility determination obligates a district to write an individualized education program. That document is where the school resources for autism are set out, from speech therapy to classroom aide time.
A family with an autistic child should put an evaluation request in writing and date it, because there’s a 90-day clock that starts ticking down, and that’s the time that the school district has to finish the evaluation and determine eligibility.
Insurance Cover Outside the Classroom
You should check what your insurance plan covers, particularly since, under North Carolina’s insurance law, state-regulated health plans must cover adaptive behavior treatment up to $40,000 per year for individuals 18 or younger, and that’s indexed to inflation.
For comparing providers of ABA therapy in North Carolina, remember that self-funded employer plans answer to federal rules and set their own autism benefits and requirements.
What the Rise in Autism Means Next
The rise in autism reflects better identification instead of a sudden change in children themselves. Schools need more specialists, and families need to know their timelines and their coverage.
For more on similar topics and more, see articles elsewhere on the site.
