Release notice – Autism Spectrum Disorder: Highlights from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth

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Release notice – Autism Spectrum Disorder: Highlights from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth

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Published by: The Public Health Agency of Canada
Date published: March 2022
ISSN: 2368-738X

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https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.42.3.06

The Public Health Agency of Canada is pleased to announce the release of the report Autism Spectrum Disorder: Highlights from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth.

The report uses data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY), a national survey that collected health-related information on children and youth aged 1 to 17 years who were living in private dwellings in Canada’s ten provinces and three territories.

The findings presented in the report provide new evidence on prevalence, health status and daily life experiences in Canadian children and youth with diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key highlights

According to the 2019 CHSCY, 1 in 50 (or 2.0%) Canadian children and youth aged 1 to 17 years were diagnosed with ASD. Of these individuals:

males were diagnosed approximately four times more frequently than females;
just over half (53.7%) were diagnosed before the age of five;
fewer, compared to those without ASD, reported having optimal general health (59.3% vs. 89.5%) and optimal mental health (39.0% vs. 84.1%);
over two-thirds (68.7%) had another long-term health condition, with attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disability/disorder and anxiety disorder being the most common;
close to three-quarters (73.3%) of those aged 2 to 17 years had difficulty in at least one functional domain, with communication, accepting change and making friends being among the most common;
more than three-quarters (78.1%) of those attending school had special education needs.

Additional statistics on Canadian children and youth with ASD can be found in the report.