The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Age of diagnosis for autism: individual and community factors across 10 birth cohorts
Open accessAbstract
Background: The incidence of autism rose dramatically between 1992 and 2001, while the age at which children were first diagnosed declined. During this period the size and composition of the autism caseload has changed, but little is known about whether the factors associated with the timing of diagnosis may also have shifted. Using a multilevel analysis strategy, the individual and community-level factors associated with age of diagnosis were modelled across 10 birth cohorts of California children. Methods: Linked birth and administrative records on 17 185 children with diagnoses of autistic disorder born in California between 1992 and 2001 and enrolled with the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) were analysed. Information on cases, their parents and their residential location were extracted from birth and DDS records. Zip codes of residence were matched to census data to create community-level measures. Multilevel linear models were estimated for each birth cohort, with individual-level effects for sex, race, parental characteristics, poverty status, birth order and symptom expression. At the community level measures of educational and economic composition, local autism prevalence and the presence of a child psychiatrist were included. Results: Children with highly educated parents are diagnosed earlier, and this effect has strengthened over time. There is a persistent gap in the age of diagnosis between high and low socioeconomic status (SES) children that has shrunk but not disappeared over time. Conclusion: Routine screening for autism in early childhood for all children, particularly those of low SES, is necessary to eliminate disparities in early intervention.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Unfortunately, disparities in timely receipt of developmental support services have persisted for many decades and may contribute to differences in developmental outcomes and school readiness by levels of social risk.3–7”
From Sustained Effectiveness of a 211 Call Center With Early Childhood Care Coordination (2025) · cites this paper as [7]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Among studies reporting age at diagnosis for Asperger’s disorder (n = 16), mean and median ages ranged from 45 [11] to 134 months [3] and 89 [26] to 116 months [22], respectively.”
From Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review (2014) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“from 36 [25] to 82 months [22]”
From Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review (2014) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“Six studies found no association between SES measures and age at diagnosis, including three studies using samples from outside of the United States [22, 27, 29, 30, 34, and 42].”
From Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review (2014) · cites this paper as [22]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models
Gelman, A., & Hill, J. (2006) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511790942 · Cited by 13,597
Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Johnson, C. P., Myers, S. M., & and the Council on Children With Disabilities (2007) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2361 · Cited by 2,011
Evidence-Based Comprehensive Treatments for Early Autism
Rogers, S. J., & Vismara, L. A. (2008) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374410701817808 · Cited by 984
Shattuck, P. T., Durkin, M., Maenner, M., Newschaffer, C., Mandell, D. S., Wiggins, L., Lee, L.-C., Rice, C., Giarelli, E., Kirby, R., et al. (2009) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e31819b3848 · Cited by 623
Landa, R. J., Holman, K. C., & Garrett-Mayer, E. (2007) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.7.853 · Cited by 590
The Rise in Autism and the Role of Age at Diagnosis
Hertz-Picciotto, I., & Delwiche, L. (2009) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0b013e3181902d15 · Cited by 522
The Changing Prevalence of Autism in California
Croen, L., Grether, J. K., Hoogstrate, J., & Selvin, S. (2002) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/a:1015453830880 · Cited by 511
Diagnostic change and the increased prevalence of autism
King, M., & Bearman, P. (2009) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyp261 · Cited by 481
Self-citationWIGGINS, L. D., BAIO, J., & RICE, C. (2006) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/00004703-200604002-00005 · Cited by 411
Fenske, E. C., Zalenski, S., Krantz, P. J., & McClannahan, L. E. (1985) · Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities · doi:10.1016/s0270-4684(85)80005-7 · Cited by 337
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review
Daniels, A. M., & Mandell, D. S. (2014) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361313480277 · Cited by 669
Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Practice and Research
Zwaigenbaum, L., Bauman, M. L., Stone, W. L., Yirmiya, N., Estes, A. M., Hansen, R. L., McPartland, J. C., Natowicz, M. R., Choueiri, R., FEIN, D. A., et al. (2015) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2014-3667c · Cited by 555
GABA system dysfunction in autism and related disorders: From synapse to symptoms
Coghlan, S., Horder, J., Inkster, B., Méndez, M. A., Murphy, D., & Nutt, D. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.07.005 · Cited by 459
Stress and Parents of Children with Autism: A Review of Literature
Bonis, S. (2016) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.3109/01612840.2015.1116030 · Cited by 404
Begeer, S., Mandell, D., Wijnker-Holmes, B., Venderbosch, S., Rem, D., Stekelenburg, F., & Koot, H. M. (2013) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1656-z · Cited by 402
Metadata
- Authors
- Fountain, C., King, M. D., & Bearman, P. S.
- Affiliations
- Columbia University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bearman, Peter S
- Venue
- Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2010-10-25
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 503-510
- ISSN
- 0141-7681 (ISSN-L)
- 0143-005X
- 1470-2738
- PMC
- PMC3039707
- OpenAlex
- W2110150914
- Cited by
- 359
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 6.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Columbia Academic Commons (Columbia University)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (DP1OD003635)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, age at diagnosis, birth cohort, autism incidence, parental education, socioeconomic status, autism screening, early intervention, autism prevalence, child psychiatrists
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Autistic Disorder, California, Child, Child, Preschool, Educational Status, Female, Health Policy, Humans, Male, Parents, Regression Analysis, Social Class, Cohort Studies, Age of Onset
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
