213436_ADDM fact sheet_508_2012

CDC’s Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
• Authorized by the Children’s
Health Act of 2000, the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has funded 14
ADDM Network sites since 2000.
• CDC’s current ADDM Network
sites identify 8-year-old
children with ASDs and other
developmental disabilities. Six
sites in Arizona, Missouri, New
Jersey, South Carolina, Utah, and
Wisconsin also monitor ASDs
among 4-year old children.

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders
and Other Developmental Disabilities
• CDC estimates that 1 in 88 children has been
identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• ASDs occur among all racial, ethnic, and
socioeconomic groups.
• ASDs are almost five times more common among
boys than among girls.
• Medical costs for children with ASDs are estimated to
be six times higher than for children without ASDs.
• In addition to medical costs, intensive behavioral
interventions for children with ASDs can cost $40,000
to $60,000 per child per year.

Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
The ADDM Network is a group of programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) to determine the number of children with ASDs and other
developmental disabilities in the United States. Each site collects data using the
same method.
By studying the number of children with ASDs at different points in time, we at CDC
can find out if the number is rising, dropping, or staying the same. We also can compare
the number of children with ASDs in different areas of the country and among different
groups of people. This information can help direct our research into potential risk factors
and can help communities direct their outreach efforts to those who need it most.
ADDM Network goals are to:
• Provide data about how common ASDs are in a specific place and time period (also
known as prevalence)
• Describe the population of children with ASDs
• Compare how common ASDs are in different areas of the country
• Identify changes in ASD occurrence over time
• Understand the impact of ASDs and related conditions in US communities

Advancing Our Understanding of Autism
Spectrum Disorders
CDC estimates that 1 in 88 children has been identified with an ASD. This data comes
from the ADDM Network, which estimated the number of 8-year-old children with ASDs
living in 14 communities throughout the United States in 2008. In 2007, CDC’s ADDM
Network first reported that about 1 in 150 children had an ASD (based on 2002 data
from 14 communities). Then, in 2009, the ADDM Network reported that 1 in 110 children
had an ASD (based on 2006 data from 11 communities). This means that the estimated
prevalence of ASDs increased 23% during 2006 to 2008 and 78% during 2002 to 2008.

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
CS231436

Data were based on reviews of health and education records from reporting communities, which included 8% of the U.S.
population of 8-year-old children. All children in the studies were 8-years-old because previous studies showed that, by this
age, most children with ASDs had been identified for services.
Here are the key findings from our most recent study:
• ASD prevalence estimates varied widely across the 14 ADDM Network sites, from 1 in 210 to 1 in 47 children.
• More children were diagnosed at earlier ages—a growing number of them by 3 years of age. Still, most children were not
diagnosed until after they reached 4 years of age.
»» On average, diagnosis was a bit earlier for children with autistic disorder (4 years) than for children with the more
broadly defined autism spectrum diagnoses (4 years, 5 months), and diagnosis was much later for children with
Asperger disorder (6 years, 3 months).
• Almost five times as many boys were identified with ASDs than girls (1 in 54 compared to 1 in 252).
• ASDs were more common among White children than among Black or Hispanic children, but the largest increases over
time were among Hispanic children (110%) and Black children (91%).
• The majority (62%) of children identified as having ASDs did not have intellectual disability.
Early ADDM Network and Other Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Activities:
• CDC has provided supplemental funding to six ADDM Network sites to monitor the prevalence of ASDs among younger
children (4-year-olds) using ADDM Network methods. These efforts will increase our understanding of the characteristics
and early identification of young children with ASDs.
• Some ADDM Network sites also are studying the prevalence of other developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy,
intellectual disability, hearing loss, and vision impairment.

Current ADDM Network Sites, Surveillance Years 2010 and 2012

WI
NJ

UT
CO
AZ

MD

MO
NC
AR

AL

SC
GA

Monitoring 8 year olds
Monitoring 4 and 8 year olds
Autism
Autism, Cerebral Palsy

Guam

Puerto
Rico

U.S. Virgin
Islands

Autism, Intellectual Disability
Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disability,
Vision Impairment, and Hearing Loss

For more information on CDC’s ADDM Network, visit www.cdc.gov/addm.
For more information on CDC’s ASD activities, visit www.cdc.gov/autism.
For more information on CDC’s Cerebral Palsy activities, visit www.cdc.gov/cp.
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
For more information please contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)/TTY: 1-888-232-63548
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cdc.gov