Nearly 1 in 10 American Kids Have Developmental Disabilities, Says CDC

Students attend a class at a middle school in a file photo. Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

Almost one in ten children in the United States have a developmental disability, with their rates rising during the pandemic period when students were isolated and faced numerous restrictions.

Developmental disability among children between the ages of three and 17 rose to 8.56 percent during 2019–2021, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published this month. “Developmental disabilities are common in children in the United States, and the prevalence has increased in recent years,” said the agency. “Developmental disability includes autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and any other developmental delay.”

While intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder numbers did not show any “significant” change during this period, the percentage of kids diagnosed with other developmental delays rose. The prevalence of intellectual disability rose with age while the prevalence of other developmental delays decreased with age.

The increase in developmental disability among children happened during the pandemic 2019–2021 period when kids were largely isolated, made to follow social distancing protocols, and forced to wear masks.

In February last year, Stephen Miller, the founder of America First Legal, warned about the issue. “Until Biden’s CDC calls for the end of all forced masking of children—recognizing the immense developmental harms they inflict—the Administration continues to be guilty of child abuse,” he said in a Feb. 26, 2022, post on Twitter.

In September, the “Nation’s Report Card” published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the average scores for students aged 9 years old fell by five points in reading and seven points in math last year compared to 2020. This was the first-ever score decline in math and the biggest average decline in reading since 1990.

According to the CDC survey, children of non-Hispanic Asian origin had a lower prevalence of developmental disability compared to kids from other ethnic groups.

Black children were more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability compared to other races. Boys were found to be three times as likely as girls to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

COVID-19 Academic Impact

In a July 10 press release, the nonprofit NWEA pointed out that even though students developed academically in the 2022–2023 school year, achievement gains fell short of the pre-pandemic trends in most school grades.

“Pandemic disruptions have been persistent and unprecedented, and, not surprisingly, so have their impacts on student achievement,” said Lindsay Dworkin, SVP of Policy and Government Affairs at NWEA.

The achievement level gap between the COVID-19 students and pre-pandemic peers did not shrink in the 2022–2023 school year. In some grades, the gap widened. Most students now need an additional 4.5 months of math instruction and 4.1 months of reading instruction to recover in these two subjects, the organization noted.

Such an amount of additional schooling cannot be compressed into a single year but will require sustained effort of multiple years, it added.

“COVID-19 may no longer be an emergency, but we are very much still dealing with the fallout from the crisis. These data reiterate that recovery will not be linear, easy, or quick and we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal,” said Karyn Lewis, director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA.

Rising Autism Numbers

An earlier CDC report, published in March, had found that one in 36 children aged eight years has autism spectrum disorder, up from 1 in 44 in 2018. This is far worse than the 1 in 150 estimate from 2000. Four percent of boys and 1 percent of girls had autism spectrum disorder, the report stated.

Though the exact reason for the skyrocketing autism rates is unknown, explanations range from genetics to environmental risk factors like higher age of parents. Some studies showed that infant exposure to certain materials like aluminum can be a cause of autism.

Some groups have criticized the CDC for not investigating the reason for the surging autism rates. “These new data … are a profound indictment of the CDC,” said Mary Holland, president and general counsel of Children’s Health Defense.

“It is willful blindness to knowingly and intentionally look away from the true causes of autism for over twenty years—during which time the rates have risen above 300 percent—is nothing short of criminal,” she said.

In a recent campaign video, former President Donald Trump vowed to investigate the rising cases of autism if he is reelected in 2024.

“Too often, our public health establishment is too close to Big Pharma. They make a lot of money—big pharma, big corporations, and other special interests—and do not want to ask the tough questions about what is happening to our children’s health,” Trump said in the June 6 video.

“This is a conversation that is long overdue, and it’s a conversation that American families deserve. They must have a leader, a president, who can do something about this problem. And I will do that,” he said.