Low but increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a French area from register-based data.

van Bakel et al. (2015) counted seven-year-olds with autism in four French counties. They used the official disability register. Kids born between 1997 and 2003 were tracked.

The team wanted to see if recorded autism cases were going up over time.

About 1 in every 274 children had a registered autism diagnosis. Nearly half of these children also had intellectual disability.

The numbers rose each year, but the rise was slow and steady.

Morales Hidalgo et al. (2021) did a fresh school survey in Spain. They found 1.5 % of children had autism—four times the French registry rate. The gap shows registries miss many cases.

Dinstein et al. (2024) updated Israeli records through 2021. Autism prevalence there doubled in just five years. The French rise looks gentle next to this newer surge.

Gillberg et al. (2006) used the same registry method in Sweden. Their rate of 1 in 188 children sits between the French and Spanish figures, confirming that how you count matters as much as where.

If you plan services, remember that official lists capture only the tip of the iceberg. Use active screening at schools and clinics. Expect caseloads to keep climbing, and reserve slots for children with both autism and intellectual disability—they make up nearly half the group.