The research was conducted by Professor Simon Baron Cohen and his colleagues in the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. Five to nine year old children from 79 schools in or near Cambridge were surveyed by the research team using three different methods.
The children were surveyed using the Special Educational Needs registers and then parents of these children were also analyzed. And finally a Childhood Autism Screening Test was done.
Findings of the Study
3,373 completed surveys confirmed about 52 cases of children suffering from autism. This data confirms that one percent of primary school children get diagnosed but there may be many more undiagnosed children who would need help.
In other words, for every three known autism cases, the study finds, further two cases may go undiagnosed in relation to a wider population.
“In terms of providing services, if we want to be prepared for the maximum numbers that might come through, these undiagnosed cases might be significant,” says Professor Simon Baron Cohen.
Significance of the present study
The number of autistic children has implications for the overall development of the modern society and, in this regard, the present research becomes all the more important.
It is vital to conduct such surveys that may help in finding out autistic people so that proper help in terms of education and health are provided.
Mark Lever from the National Autistic Society affirms, “This is an important research, which for the first time gives us an estimate of the number of people who don't have an autism diagnosis but may be in need of support.”
A wider research is needed in this regard to get the exact figures as that can help in better diagnosis of the disorder seen increasingly in children today.
The research has been published in the June edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
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