1 in 10 Kids Diagnosed With Developmental Disability, CDC Says. Experts Blame Pandemic Policies for Rising Numbers.

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows developmental delays — including in physical movement, language, social awareness and brain functioning — among children ages 3 to 17 rose from 5.1% in 2018 to 6.1% in 2021.

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows developmental delays among children ages 3 to 17 rose from 5.1% in 2018 to 6.1% in 2021.

More broadly, the report reveals that nearly 1 in 10 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with a developmental disability in 2021, an increase from previous years.

The CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which monitors the nation’s health through household questionnaires, collected data on three categories of developmental disabilities: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability and “other developmental delay.”

“A lot of times developmental delays might be temporary diagnoses that evolve into something like autism, potentially, or intellectual disability,” said Benjamin Zablotsky, Ph.D., a statistician for the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and lead author of the new report, in an interview with CBS News. “But also a lot of times children do age out of those.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a child is considered to have a developmental delay when that “child is slow to reach one or more developmental milestones compared to their peers.” Each milestone is tied to four aspects of their growth: motor, visual and social skills and language development.

The prevalence reported was higher for each condition — ASD, intellectual disability and developmental delays — than in a 2014-2016 NHIS report.