Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence in Children Aged 12-13 Years From the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.
Australian parents now report autism in 1 of every 23 twelve-year-olds, so expect more mild cases in your pre-teen caseload.
01Research in Context
What this study did
May et al. (2020) asked parents of 12- and 13-year-old Australian kids if a doctor had ever told them their child has autism.
They compared two groups: kids born in 1999-2000 and kids born in 2003-2004. Both groups came from the same big national survey.
What they found
Parents of the later-born group reported autism 4.4 % of the time. That is almost twice the 2.6 % rate seen in the earlier group.
The jump shows doctors and parents are now spotting milder forms of autism that used to be missed.
How this fits with other research
Zeidan et al. (2022) pooled world data and placed the new Australian 4.4 % figure inside a rising global median of 1 %. The two studies agree: higher numbers come from wider awareness, not a true epidemic.
Fombonne (2003) had earlier said autism rates were only 0.3-0.6 %. The current study extends that work by showing the climb has continued and is driven by milder cases.
Jure et al. (2016) looks like a contradiction—half of blind children met autism criteria. The huge gap disappears once you see Rubin studied a very small, high-risk group while Tamara sampled the whole country.
Why it matters
Your middle-school caseload will keep growing. Plan for more social-skills groups, staff training, and classroom supports. When you see a bright but quirky student who once slipped through, move assessment up the list—mild presentations are the new normal.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add one extra social-skills probe to your 11-13-year-old intake battery to catch the milder kids now being identified.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study aimed to provide an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence update from parent and teacher report using the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The LSAC is a prospective cohort study of Australian children representative of the population with two cohorts: Kinder (birth year 1999/2000) and Birth cohort (birth year 2003/2004). Children in the Birth and Kinder cohort with parent- and teacher-reported ASD prevalence were compared to children without ASD. There were N = 3,381 (66%) responding in the Birth cohort at age 12 and N = 3,089 (62%) for the Kinder cohort at age 16. Quality of life was measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and emotional/behavior problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Parent-reported ASD prevalence increased to 4.36% [95% CI 3.56-5.19] at age 12-13 years in the Birth cohort and 2.60% [95% CI 2.07-3.31] in the Kinder cohort. Kinder cohort ASD children had more parent- and teacher-reported social problems, and lower parent-reported social and psychosocial quality of life. As expected, parent-reported ASD prevalence continued to rise. The higher prevalence in the Birth cohort may relate to milder cases of ASD being diagnosed. Autism Res 2020, 13: 821-827. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Parent-reported ASD prevalence in 2016 in 12-year-old children from the Birth cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children was 4.4%, and higher than the 2.6% in the earlier born Kinder cohort. The Birth cohort had a milder presentation with fewer social, emotional, and behavioral problems than the Kinder cohort. Milder cases of ASD are being diagnosed in Australia resulting in one of the highest reported prevalence rates in the world.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2020 · doi:10.1002/aur.2286