Assemblyman Santabarbara, Chair of the Subcommittee on Autism Spectrum Disorders, received unanimous support from both the Assembly and the Senate for his bill (A.09868) that establishes the use of the new autism screening guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics in New York State. The bill is the latest addition to Santabarbara’s Autism Action Plan in the New York State Assembly.

Santabarbara introduced the bill following a recent report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that showed that about 1 in 59 children in the US are now being diagnosed with autism, up from 1 in 68 in 2012. The numbers have more than doubled since 2000. The data also revealed that as autism rates continue to climb a majority of children are not diagnosed until after the age of four and therefore are not receiving the early intervention services available in New York State that can have a positive impact on their development.

Screening is a way to detect autism before the onset of symptoms. With recent advancements in early screening, by age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered very reliable, however, there is no standardized screening approach for the early identification of autism. To promote and improve the early identification of autism, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently published practice guidelines included in Santabarbara’s bill that recommends screening for autism at the 18 and 24 month visits, before the onset of symptoms.

“Despite these guidelines, most busy pediatric practices do not consistently use the screening,” Santabarbara said, whose 16 year old son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism at age 3. “As a result, most children are not diagnosed until age 3 or later. This delay means that many children are not getting the help they need,” Santabarbara added. “Early treatment of autism can have a significantly positive impact on the health and well-being of children and their families and I’m pleased to see this bill on its way to the Governor’s desk.”