Approximately one in every 150 children in the United States has autism or a closely related disorder — a figure higher than most recent estimates — according to a federal survey released yesterday, the most thorough ever conducted. The report was featured in the Washington Post (Friday, February 9, 2007; Page A06).

The new data, from 14 US states, do not mean that autism is on the rise, because the criteria and definitions used were not the same as those used in the past.

The CDC is comparing selected survey cases with data collected from medical exams to test the accuracy and validity of the survey’s impressions.

By applying a standardized methodology across the nation year after year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey promises to tell a lot about autistic behaviors in the United States.

The survey looks at records of 8-year-olds, the age by which the vast majority of autistic children are diagnosed. Alison Singer, senior vice president of New York-based Autism Speaks, an advocacy group that funds about $30 million in research, said the survey pulls back the veil on the huge toll autism is taking in America.

"We need to remember that behind every one of these one in 150 is a family," said Singer, the mother of a 9-year-old autistic girl. She said Congress should take heed and fund the Combating Autism Act it passed in December, which authorized $945 million in research and other funds over five years.

"That money has to get into the hands of the researchers," Singer said, "so we can find a cause and understand what is fueling this high prevalence."