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Notice to Readers: Autism Awareness Month --- April 2005
April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism spectrum disorders are lifelong developmental disabilities characterized
by unusual social and communication development and the presence of unusual or repetitive behaviors and interests
(1). These conditions affect as many as 2--6 per 1,000 children in the United States
(2,3), making autism a serious public health
concern. Children with autism identified early and enrolled in early intervention programs show significant improvements in
their language, cognitive, social, and motor skills, as well as in their future educational placement
(4,5). In collaboration with a coalition of partners, CDC recently launched a public awareness campaign, "Learn the Signs. Act Early." to educate parents about early childhood development, including potential early warning signs of autism and other developmental disabilities.
To track rates and trends in autism and conduct epidemiologic studies, CDC funds monitoring programs in 18 states and
supports five Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE). The CADDRE centers
are conducting a large-scale, epidemiologic case-control study of autism to examine potential risk factors. Additional information
about autism activities is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism or
http://www.cdc.gov/actearly.
References
American Psychiatric Association. Criteria for the Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition, text revision (DSM-IV TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
Yeargin-Allsopp M, Rice C, Karapurkar T, Doernberg N, Boyle C, Murphy C. Prevalence of Autism in a US metropolitan area. JAMA
2003;289:49--55.
Bertrand J, Mars A, Boyle C, Bove F, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Decoufle P. Prevalence of autism in a United States population. Pediatrics
2001;108:1155--61.
National Research Council. Educating children with autism: Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism. Division
of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001.
Dawson G, Osterling J. Early intervention in autism. In: Guralnick MJ, ed. The effectiveness of early intervention. Baltimore, MD: Paul H.
Brookes; 1997.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
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Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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