Southern Trust has lowest rate of autism in school age children in NI according to new report

A report released by the Department of Health has indicated that the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area which includes Newry has the lowest prevalence rate of autism in school age children in all of the Trusts in Northern Ireland. The statistics are in a 2023 Department of Health report on the 'Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger Syndrome) in School Age Children in Northern Ireland'.

The Southern Trust had 2.7% of school age children with autism while Belfast Trust was highest at 7.7%. The prevalence rate of autism has risen in all Trusts in recent years and the gap between the Trust rates has also increased.

Figures extracted from the 2022/23 Northern Ireland School Census show that 15,212 school aged children had been diagnosed with autism throughout all the health trusts. This represents an estimated autism prevalence rate 5.0% within the school aged population. This was 0.3 percentage points higher than in 2021/22.

It's also noted that males were almost three times more likely to have a diagnosis of autism than females. In all the trusts 7.3% of males were identified with autism compared to 2.7% of females.

The report explains:

Autism is a developmental disability that influences a person’s ability to communicate and relate to other people, as well as affecting how they make sense of the world*. It is a spectrum condition, meaning that while all people with autism will have similar problems, overall their condition will impact them in different ways. Some people may be able to lead independent lives while others will require a lifetime of specialist support.

The need to develop and improve health and social care services for people of all ages who are affected by autism has been apparent for some time. In order to provide effective services, knowing the incidence and prevalence of this condition is clearly important.

It should be noted that the data only captures those children identified with autism and at any time there may be additional children who may be progressing through the full assessment process. It is therefore possible that a number of children may be identified as having autism at a later date in the school year.

It should also be noted that there are many factors which can lead to variances in the apparent prevalence rates within the different breakdowns commented on in this bulletin. In this regard, care should be taken when considering the findings, i.e. it is likely that at least some of the observed variation in prevalence may be attributable to differences in organisational structure and arrangements in place between/within HSC Trust areas.

* A diagnosis of autism in this publication includes those who traditionally have been identified as having Asperger syndrome.

See full report below:

Prevalence of Autism in School Age Children in NI 2023