Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM)
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Network (ADDM) is a CDC-funded project that aims to monitor the number of cases of autism and other developmental disabilities in different regions of this country to provide accurate, population-based estimates of the prevalence of these disabilities in young children.
The latest ADDM prevalence report related to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) was released March 31, 2016. (Read the Bloomberg School news release.)
Research sites in 11 states participated, including Maryland.
The data were derived from health and special education records of children who were eight years old and living in Baltimore County in 2012.
The national 2016 report, which focused on data from 2012, also found an overall prevalence of 1 in 68 children with ASD. As in prior years, the prevalence among boys was higher than among girls. In the new report, the prevalence was 1 in 42 boys, compared to 1 in 189 girls.
Taking a look at Maryland's numbers, the overall prevalence was found to be 1 in 55 children, with 1 in 34 boys and 1 in 161 girls meeting criteria for ASD.
- For more information, including a link to the 2016 ADDM report, visit the CDC website.
The surveillance system is a multiple source, records-based population surveillance system, currently focused on ASDs with plans to expand to other developmental disabilities in the future. CADDE collaborates with the Maryland State Department of Education and local hospitals to obtain data about potential ASD cases.
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is a collaboration of U.S. sites estimating the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders.