A study appearing in the journal Pediatrics shows that, in the last decade, an apparent increase in the prevalence of children in special education programs who have been labeled as autistic has been accompanied by a decrease in the categories of mental retardation and learning disabilities during the same period.  The researchers concluded that diagnostic substitution, rather than increased prevalence, may be behind increased rates of autism today.  The research highlights the need to address the lag between scientific findings and school special education policies. 

The original journal citation is:   Shattuck PT. "The Contribution of Diagnostic Substitution to the Growing Administrative Prevalence of Autism in US Special Education." Pediatrics 2006; 117: 1028-1037.

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