The Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adulthood
摘要
The majority of autism epidemiology research has focused on children and adolescents, rather than the adult population, within which the majority of autistic people reside. In this updated chapter, we discuss the evidence base on adult autism epidemiology, as well as the methodological approaches undertaken in English population surveys led by T.S. Brugha. We emphasize the need for active case finding in order to determine autism prevalence; making inferences of prevalence based on clinical records fails to take account of high rates of undiagnosed autism in the general adult population. Such underrecognition in adults of autism continues to present a significant public health challenge, and ensuring healthcare professionals are well trained in both autism identification and provision of support is central to addressing this issue.