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Trends in Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnoses: 1994–2007

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Abstract

We analyzed predictors of parent-reported initial diagnosis (autistic disorder [AD], pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified [PDD-NOS], pervasive developmental disorder [‘PDD’] and autism spectrum disorder [‘ASD’], and Asperger syndrome [AS]), among 6,176 individuals with autism spectrum disorders diagnosed from 1994 through 2007. Overall, distribution of diagnoses was influenced by a secular time trend factor; other significant factors included ethnicity, white race, geographic location, urbanicity, and initial evaluator. Since 2001, most initial diagnoses of AD and AS have remained steady while ‘PDD’ and PDD-NOS have decreased. ‘ASD’ diagnoses have increased, especially among school-based teams; AS diagnoses also increased uniquely among these evaluators. Findings from this study suggest that current diagnostic guidelines may not be meeting all community evaluator needs.

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Notes

  1. In this paper, we address only the first three diagnoses and use ASD without quotation marks to refer to all autism spectrum disorders; ‘ASD’ and ‘PDD’ refer to a specific diagnosis.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Autism Speaks. The funder had no role in determining content. We thank Ms Teresa Foden for proofreading assistance. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of IAN families without which this research would not be possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Informatics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Rebecca E. Rosenberg, J. Kiely Law & Paul A. Law

  2. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Amy M. Daniels

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Paul A. Law

  4. Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 3901 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21211, USA

    Walter E. Kaufmann

  5. Departments of Pathology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Walter E. Kaufmann

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  1. Rebecca E. Rosenberg
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  2. Amy M. Daniels
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  3. J. Kiely Law
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Correspondence to Walter E. Kaufmann.

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All authors are at the same institutions that they were at the time of the study.

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Rosenberg, R.E., Daniels, A.M., Law, J.K. et al. Trends in Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnoses: 1994–2007. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 1099–1111 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0723-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0723-6

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