Following last week's report, Autism in Schools: Crisis or challenge?, by the National Autistic Society (NAS), the Department of Health conceded that 'the number of children identified as having autism is increasing' and said it would study the report's findings 'very carefully'.
However, the health department suggested the rise in cases could be due partly to improvements in diagnosis and changes in the way ASD is defined. But the NAS said the quality of autism diagnosis and assessment remained 'patchy and variable'.
The NASreport is the result of a survey carried out in seven local education authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. Teachers in surveyed schools told the NAS that one in 86 children has special educational needs related to ASD, while one in 152 children has a formal diagnosis of ASD. This is higher than a recent estimate by the Medical Research Council, which suggested one in 166 children aged under eight has ASD.
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