Data Sources

All of the graphs, charts, maps, and visualizations use the following data sources:

• www.ideadata.org - Child count data is collected annually by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in accordance with Section 618 of Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA defines 13 eligibility categories including autism that data is recorded for. OSEP releases data from 1998 to the most recent data (2006) on their website, however they have provided us data back to 1992. Each state collects it's own data and submits the state data to the OSEP. OSEP uses the data to prepare reports for the US Congress. Autism was added as a separate eligibility category in 1991 (optional) and 1992 (required). Before 1991 autism was recorded in the Other Health Impairment Category (OHI) per OSEP policy. The child count data is used as the numerator in prevalence calculations. In the case of the maps we request the child count data but from the specific states, because the states provide us with more detailed data (ie school district or county).

• www.cdc.gov/nchs/ - CDC live birth data was extracted from the birth data file user guides (pdf files) on the CDC website for years 1968 to the most recent year. We use this data for the denominator in prevalence calculations.

• nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/ - Public school enrollment data was download from National Center For Education Statistics website. We use this data for the denominator in prevalence calculations.

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Dr. Bryan Jepson | Kelly Barnhill, MBA, CN, CNN