What happened: The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network started surveying children in 2000 (born in 1992) and found that diagnosis rates increased to 1 in 36 children from 1 in 150 children when the tracking began. Why it matters: The reasons behind the rise of diagnoses are not clear, though broader awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has helped families and community members to adapt and better understand how it manifests, leading to better outcomes as children grow. Efforts to promote these outcomes and social integration can be seen in the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, which is recognized on April 2. Where to see the impact: Unemployment rates of college-educated adults affected by autism have historically been higher than their peers. That presents a challenge for companies, their hiring managers, and teams to integrate capable hires who might otherwise be overlooked. |
