Patch Chat: New Autism Study Finds 1 in 38 Have Disorder

The figure is startling — 1 in 38.

A new six-year study by a respected Yale scientist has found that 1 in 38 children in a town outside Seoul, South Korea, fall somewhere on the autistic spectrum, struggling — diagnosed or not — with some form of an autistic spectrum disorder.

That's twice as high as the numbers widely used in the U.S., which say 1 in 110 children suffer from ASD. Several experts believe the study, if reproduced here, would find similar results.

What does it all mean?

Here are five things you need to know about the study:

• It was done by a team of American and South Korean researchers in South Korea, where schooling is mandatory, so it captured the whole population — 55,000 children ages 7-12, not just those in special education or those whose parents might be concerned about autism. 
• It's a prevalence study — it essentially asked "how many?" — so it can't speak to growth over time.
• The diagnostic criteria they used are internationally accepted, lending serious weight to their findings, which were published May 9 online in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The authors called them the "gold-standard" for determining if a child has autism.
• One in 38 translates to 2.64 percent of the group studied.
• The study was also funded by Autism Speaks, an advocacy group based in New York. They have a great deal of information for parents on the signs of autism. 

Curious to learn more?

Listen, if you'd like, to a great, in-depth radio program on the new research, or read reaction from leading scientific thinkers and autism advocates. Read more about the Yale Child Study Center and the study's head researcher, Dr. Young-Shin Kim. Watch how NBC covered the story.

What do you think?

—Is your family affected by an autism spectrum disorder?

—Does this new prevalence number seem too high or more accurate than 1 in 110 to you?

—Are we doing enough to help kids with autistic spectrum disorders?