Atlanta — The U.S. Center for Disease Control announced a new round of research aimed at monitoring autism cases in the country, more in-depth and more extensive than all the previous surveillance it completed in the past.
The new round of autism surveillance will be performed in 10 of its sites across the countries. The researchers at the sites will be combing through last year’s data in their communities to ascertain up-to-date autism rates in each community. In addition to the rates, the researchers will also determine the relation of the number of cases of autism to the changes of diagnostic criteria for autism released in 2013, as published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
All 10 sites are tasked to collect data from 2014 based on the records of 8-year-old children. Six of the sites are also tasked to include records of 4-year-old children. The records will be evaluated in two ways: if the children are considered with autism based on the latest edition of the DSM diagnostic criteria, or if they fall under that category based on the previous manual.
The CDC releases data about its autism monitoring rates every two years— with the data gathered by the center in 2012 expected to be released some time in 2016.
Source: Michelle Diament on the Disability Scoop website: CDC Stepping Up Autism Monitoring Efforts