Although numerous investigations have examined the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in the general population, have special education identification rates of autism kept pace? From the 1992–1993 to 2001–2002 school years, U.S. Department of Education data indicate an increase from 15,580 to 97,904 students with autism, an expansion of 528% and an annual average growth of 22.69%. The number of students with autism per 10,000 public school enrollees has correspondingly increased from 3.64 to 20.53 during this period. Despite this expansion, there remains a substantial gap between students identified with autism under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and current prevalence estimates of ASD, in large part due to underidentification of youngsters on the higher functioning end of the spectrum.
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