Published online July 1, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 116 No. 1 July 2005, pp. e120-e124 (doi:10.1542/peds.2004-2341)
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ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

US Department of Education Data on "Autism" Are Not Reliable for Tracking Autism Prevalence

James R. Laidler, MD

From the Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

Many autism advocacy groups use the data collected by the US Department of Education (USDE) to show a rapidly increasing prevalence of autism. Closer examination of these data to follow each birth-year cohort reveals anomalies within the USDE data on autism. The USDE data show not only a rise in overall autism prevalence with time but also a significant and nearly linear rise in autism prevalence within a birth-year cohort as it ages, with significant numbers of new cases as late as 17 years of age. In addition, an unexpected reduction in the rise of autism prevalence occurs in most cohorts at 12 years of age, the age when most children would be entering middle school. These anomalies point to internal problems in the USDE data that make them unsuitable for tracking autism prevalence.

Key Words: autism • prevalence • education

Abbreviations: USDE, United States Department of Education • IDEA, Individuals With Disabilities Education Act • DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition • OAR, Oregon Administrative Rules

Accepted Jan 13, 2004.


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