A recent study has shown that the rate of children that suffer from autism is much higher than expected. The number of infants with autism and related conditions has also increased as compared with the figures registered prior to 1990. It lead to the conclusion that 1 in 100 children in Britain may suffer from [ADMARK]autism and other neurological disorders.

A medical team from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in south London investigated a group of 57,000 children aged 9 and 10 in 2001. Of these nine and ten years old infants, 255 have been previously diagnosed with autism, while other 1515 proved also to suffer from mental impairments that have been undetected until now.

The findings of the study have been published in the Lancet journal. A deeper investigation carried out by the British scientists on a smaller group of children showed that 39 per 10000 infants suffer from autism and 77 per 10000 infants suffer from autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Therefore, 116 per 10000 children suffer from autism or autistic related disorders.

The study was led by professor Gillian Baird, who suggested that the unexpectedly high rates of mental disorders registered among children may be caused by the poor services offered to the ill children or by wrong diagnoses that have been performed until 1990. In this respect, the professor stated:

"Prevalence of autism and related ASDs is substantially higher than previously recognized. Whether the increase is due to better ascertainment, broadening diagnostic criteria, or increased incidence is unclear."

Taking into account the fact that experts reckoned a rate of 4 or 5 per 10000 people that suffered from autism before 1990, as compared to almost 1% registered nowadays, professor Baird urged that services in health, education, and social care should "recognize the needs of children with some form of ASD, who constitute 1% of the child population."