What % of kids have asd?

[Chilto]

So many friends kids have recently been diagnosed with asd and adhd. I am considering seeking diagnosis for my 2 kids and myself as we have some traits and find social situations difficult. Kids have occasional meltdowns but only at home. However a few years ago I would not have considered it as we are all ‘managing’ but maybe not thriving. Does any one have any up to date numbers of percentages with asd conditions?

1:64

@Itsrainingoverhere . That’s the sort of number I see when searching online but based on the peers of my children it seems more like 25%

I think this is probably very out of date. There are 3 out of 26 in DD’s class at school. That’s one in 9ish. And there seem to be more and more diagnoses later in life too, so could well be a few more in the end.

In short OP, a lot, and it’s getting higher and higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually a third of children end up with a diagnosis of ASD, ADHD or both. Or even half.

The rates are changing rapidly as awareness of masking, particularly in girls, means more are being picked up on. Two of mine are diagnosed but older one in process of diagnosis and another suspects she may be too. Step daughter diagnosed at 16 and her son also diagnosed. Partners brother diagnosed at 50.

I don’t know percentages but we’ve had a lot more children with ASD and SEN in the last three/four years at nursery.

Currently have about five children in one small cohort. On average it’s been about one per cohort of around 30 children.

It’s 1 in 36 in USA. And something like 1 in 3 in NI according to Autistic Girls Network.

They estimate 1 in 3 in Uk ( counting the undiagnosed/unrecogbised)

I should add the children I’m including are the very obvious low functioning ones such as being non verbal, strong behavioural traits. I’m not including children who may get a later diagnosis because they are currently coping and presenting as high functioning.

I think I've just got the answer to why asd is on the increase. People don't want their children to manage, they want them to thrive. Which is a good thing. I spent my childhood managing and I didn't want my dc to live like that. When they were on the waiting list I got a lot of "well, their not autistic, that's just their personality, they're just quiet/quirky" from well meaning older relatives.

I think that they officially say 1 in 100, but I think that it's probably closer to 3 or 4 out of 30. They just didn't bother looking for it properly in the past, so that will have screwed the stats. Also I think that ASD is a far broader spectrum nowadays.

There's a report from newcastle uni putting it at 1:57 in 2021 (it quotes the 1:64 as the previous prevelance) this is of the school population.

There’s a huge disconnect between what the statisticians say and virtually everybody’s real life experience. If it was 1:64, then DD’s class should be very rare, yet 2 or 3 per class at least seems very much the norm.

14.8%, of our large two form entry, school have either a diagnosis or are have been referred for assessment for ADHD or Autism. Off the top of my head I would break that down as probably around 7% ASC, 4% ADHD and the other 4% dual ASC/ADHD

There are no up-to-date numbers. The current ones are generally from children at 8 years old when largely only the most blatant/external symptoms versions of autism are diagnosed.

Those with more subtle / internal autism IE most girls with autism or those that didn't have delays or big meltdowns don't get diagnosed until into their teens when the added expectations and pressures get too much and their previous coping skills don't work.

I guess you need to ask yourself what benefit getting diagnosed will bring it costs around £2.5k to get diagnosed privately, waiting lists are huge on the NHS. Once you have the diagnosis it brings validation but no instant access to any help or support. There are other assessments that can be done which are cheaper than also helps you learn about how your brain works and strengths and weaknesses like the WISC-V which gives more recommendations that help academically and a spiky profile on there would also suggest autism and then go for diagnosis if necessary.

In my cohort of 29 I have 3 boys diagnosed, 2 girls on the pathway and another 3 who I suspect and not yet on pathway. They all present very differently, I suspect that 20-30 years ago only 2 of the boys would have been diagnosed, the others would have been labeled as naughty, quirky or odd children. I myself am autistic, but no diagnosis for me.

DS’s old school was always 10% autistic children. It’s now nearer 20%.
I do understand that there’s a rise as parents choose this school over others, but even the SEN team have commented that there are more and more children being referred for assessment than ever before, beyond there being more awareness. More and more children are finding school intolerably difficult. (As an aside more teachers are finding the same - it’s almost like the current situation is really bad for everyone involved!).

Life is far more stressful and pressured than it used to be. I suspect this is leading to the pathologising of natural diversity of humans, as there are fewer outlets for different behaviours within schools, and to access activities that were standard 30/40 years ago (more sports, more time outside, more practical activities and subjects) you need to have acknowledged SN.

More children are struggling in school than ever before. The response of schools (directed by the government) is to tighten the screws and up the pressure.

@Bartoz or we currently live in an era so far removed from what we as animals are built to deal with that those with differently wired brains cannot cope as they did even 20 years in the past. We aren't designed to sit and learn in classroom or to work on computers in offices. We aren't designed for the continuous assault on our sensory organs from modern technology. It's no suprise that people that struggle with those things are becoming overwhelmed.

Better connectivity and education mean that parents can talk in a way impossible previously, going private for assessment isn't just for the rich if you can save.

Why are percentages relevant to you getting yourself and your kids diagnosed? What difference does it make? Getting assessed is getting harder and harder and waits are getting longer and some. In some areas unless your kids life has pretty much fallen apart you can't even get assessed.

In answer to your question 1.76% of children in the UK.

Around one in 57 (1.76%) children in the UK is on the autistic spectrum, significantly higher than previously reported, according to a study of more than 7 million children carried out by researchers from Newcastle University in collaboration with the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry and Maastricht University.

I agree completely

The national autistic society has a report on education saying 180,000 children in school with a diagnosis. Obviously, that doesn't cover everyone on the waiting list, or tell us if they are mainly in younger year groups. Theres around 10million pupils.

Once you have the diagnosis it brings validation but no instant access to any help or support.

When you have an autistic child it’s remarkably common to have adults involved (mainly teachers) say “oh he/she is fine, we can’t see anything”.

Support is supposed to be given to accommodate needs, not a diagnosis, but when teachers are keen to tell you your child is naughty/stupid/lazy/distractive [insert any other negative ways to describe a child showing behaviours that scream out that they are struggling] and not once does anyone acknowledge that the child in question is not deliberately being a little shitbag (as an ex friend/schoolteacher once told me) and just needs some support, as a parent it becomes pretty fucking desperate to get that diagnosis because the adults gatekeeping the support are denying it. Time and time again.

I think the bar has been lowered for a positive diagnosis and I can’t halo but wonder if there are people somewhere making lots of money out of this (counselling services/private clinics). I’m not sure that a diagnosis in a borderline highly functioning child or adult for that matter is helpful?
In both my DDs classes there have been 1 in 30 who I would say are a true diagnosis and need significant help. I wouldn’t know about any others beneath that obvious diagnostic bar.
As for why prevalence might be increasing - more diagnosis/awareness (to what end I’m not sure), increasing paternal age and overstimulation from tablets etc from too young an age?