CBS EVENING NEWS FEATURES DR. TERRY HAMLIN ON RISING AUTISM PREVALENCE
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On the April 16th broadcast of CBS Evening News, Dr. Terry Hamlin, President and CEO of The Center for Discovery, was featured in a segment exploring the substantial rise in autism diagnoses across the United States. The segment highlighted new data indicating that 1 in 31 children is now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by age 8.
CBS News Medical Contributor Dr. Celine Gounder, sat down with Dr. Hamlin to discuss what these numbers mean. While experts point to improvements in awareness and access to evaluations as key drivers, Dr. Hamlin emphasized there’s more at play. “There is increased awareness, but there’s something else as well,” she mentioned. “There are new cases – and there are more and more of them – and it’s children with true autism spectrum disorder.”
This important conversation sheds light on the significance of not only early identification and intervention, but also the need to better understand and address the broader factors contributing to this rise.