Hospitalizations of children with autism increased from 1999 to 2009.
Autism hospitalizations tripled in ten years because mental-health needs outran community care.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Whitehouse et al. (2014) looked at ten years of U.S. hospital records. They counted how many kids with autism stayed overnight from 1999 to 2009. They grouped stays by reason such as mental-health or seizures.
What they found
Autism hospital stays tripled in ten years. Most growth came from mental-health and neurological reasons. Older kids showed the sharpest rise.
How this fits with other research
Reyer et al. (2006) first showed kids with autism already had seven-times higher yearly medical costs. Whitehouse et al. (2014) now adds that inpatient use is climbing fast.
Bush et al. (2021) later updated the price tag, giving today’s $4-5k yearly extra per child. Together the three papers trace a line: costs were high, then hospital stays surged, and today the bill keeps rising.
Ellingsen et al. (2014) found two-thirds of Medicaid kids with autism were on psychotropics. The jump in mental-health admissions seen by Whitehouse et al. (2014) matches that medication trend.
Why it matters
Outpatient supports are not keeping pace. When community care slips, kids land in the hospital. BCBAs should flag mental-health red flags early, link families to psychiatrists, and document need when you request extra hours or respite. Strong behavior plans today can prevent crisis admissions tomorrow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We performed a retrospective analysis of hospital discharges for children with autism, in comparison to children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, mental retardation/intellectual disability, and the general population. Hospitalizations for autism increased nearly threefold over 10 years, especially at the oldest ages, while hospitalizations for the other groups did not change. Leading discharge diagnoses for each age group in children with autism included mental health and nervous system disorders. Older age, Caucasian ethnicity, and living in a region with a high number of pediatric beds predicted hospitalizations associated with mental health diagnoses. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive clinical services that address the complex needs of children with autism to prevent costly hospitalizations.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2014 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1965-x