Autistic Diagnosis in China – An Investigation in North China Over 16 Years

Background: Since four children were first diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in China in 1982, the number has been growing fast. However, there is very few large scale epidemiological investigation about the prevalence of ASDs and there is no such a registry for autism to collect and store all the inpatient data from all the public hospitals in China. We collected and analyzed all the hospital records of children diagnosed with ASDs in north China from 1993 to 2008.

Objectives: This is an attempt to investigate the prevalence, diagnosis and characteristics of ASDs in China since early 1990s.

Methods: The data we collected about the children diagnosed with ASDs in North China since 1993 include: date of birth, date of being diagnosed, IQ, Children Intelligence Development Index, Clancy Behaviour Scale, SM, Child Behavior CheoKlist (CBCL), Sensory Integration Rating Scale, Children Temperament Scale (CTS), Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS), Gesell Development Schedules (GDS), DSC, etc., which are the most common diagnostic methods widely used in China over the 16 years.

Results: From March 1993 to September 2008, there have been 1886 children diagnosed with ASDs in north China (northeast China, Shandong province, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Tianjin mainly), including 1441 boys and 417 girls (the ratio is 3.4556 : 1). The average age when first being diagnosed with ASDs is 38.34 months. To our surprise, there are 57 infants younger than 12 months diagnosed with ASDs. Between 1993 to end of 1999, there were only 85 children diagnosed with ASDs. 1285 children were diagnosed with Clancy Behaviour Scale, and their mean is 15.210.

Conclusions: The results of this study supported the former research on the ratio of male to female and incidence rate. The autistic children population grew very fast in the past decades and their diagnosed ages became younger, so there is an urgent need for early diagnosis and intervention.