Prevalence and Incidence of Developmental Disorders in Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Rah et al. (2020) counted every child in Korea who had a developmental disorder. They used the whole national health database from 2003 to 2017.

The team looked for autism, language delay, and other developmental disabilities. They wanted to see if the numbers were going up.

The rate of developmental disorders in Korea quadrupled in 14 years. Autism, language delay, and general developmental delay drove the jump.

The rise was steady each year, not a one-time spike.

Maciver et al. (2023) found the same upward curve in Scotland. One in six Scottish primary pupils now has a neurodevelopmental diagnosis, matching Korea’s climb.

Zahorodny et al. (2014) saw an earlier 64% jump in New Jersey autism rates from 2002-2006. Korea’s later quadrupling extends that trend with a bigger leap.

Bröring et al. (2018) point to one driver: more very preterm babies survive and they show high ADHD and autism symptoms. Better neonatal care may help explain part of Korea’s rise.

Your caseload is growing for a reason—there really are more kids to serve. Use Korea’s data when you ask administrators for more staff and earlier screening slots. Pair it with Scotland’s school numbers to show this is a global wave, not local hype.