Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network Expands Surveillance to Identify Healthcare Needs and Transition Planning for Youth | Autism | NCBDDD

CDC’s latest study about adolescents with ASD comes from data collected by the ADDM Network in 2020. These findings provide important information for policymakers to use to improve the quality of services and reduce disparities in receiving services for adolescents with ASD.

Health Status and Educational Services

Data on the health status of 16-year-olds with ASD and the educational services they receive across the United States can help identify healthcare needs sooner and better inform transition planning for post-high school life. The latest data on adolescents with ASD provides policymakers with information on specific areas, including the following:

• Mental health for youth with ASD
• School services and planning provided for students with ASD with an Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• COVID-19 impact
• Transition planning for life after high school

Study findings¹ included:

Adolescents with ASD and intellectual disability were less likely to have documented co-occurring anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation/behavior and less likely to receive school-based mental health services than those without intellectual disability. This may be related to challenges with screening and diagnosis of these conditions among those with intellectual disability.

• Black adolescents with ASD were less likely to have documented co-occurring anxiety or depression than White and Hispanic adolescents, which may indicate disparities in identification and treatment for Black adolescents.

Wide variation was found in provision of IEP services across sites (states) that may be due to differences at the district or state levels in policy, programs, or resources available for students with autism with an IEP.

Researchers found many transition plans and post-secondary goals (more than 90%) completed for adolescents with ASD, with the exception of the IEP independent living goal, which had lower completion rates for those without intellectual disability (36%) compared with those with intellectual disability (62%). Researchers also found large differences in completion rates across ADDM Network sites (17%–96%).