Looking Ahead At Diagnostic Tools For Autism

Are these numbers right? That's the question I asked my colleague Lora Perry about the new autism prevalence estimates—now estimating that 1 in 59 children have autism spectrum disorder (see Autism Rates & Autism Costs-A Future View). Her comment to me was that the rising numbers are may be due, in part, to better early childhood evaluations and diagnostic tools.

Her comment also made me take a look at what is happening with diagnostic tools for autism. There are a number of developments that have made their way to practice—and a number in the pipeline.

In . . .