Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities System – (WISADDS) – UW–Madison
The Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities System (WISADDS) is part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WISADDS is a multi-source public health surveillance project that monitors the prevalence of autism spectrums disorders (ASDs), cerebral palsy (CP), and co-occurring intellectual disability (ID) in 4- and 8-year-old children within an 8-county area in southeastern Wisconsin.
ASD Prevalence, 2018
The information below represents a portion of the results from the 2018 survey of ASD Prevalence in 8-year-old children. A complete factsheet is available here.
Number of children identified with ASDs: 557
Total prevalence of ASDs: 18.8 per 1,000 (1 in 53)
Hispanic: 1 in 44
White: 1 in 47
Black: 1 in 45
Asian or Pacific Islander: 1 in 45
Documented Comprehensive Developmental Evaluation
Fewer than half (48.1%) identified with ASD received a comprehensive developmental evaluation by age 3 years
Part of Wisconsin included in ADDM highlighted in green, 2018.
8 counties: Dane, Green, Jefferson, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Rock, Walworth, and Waukesha
• 19% Black
• 5% Asian or Pacific Islander
• 1% American Indian or Alaska Native
“The Latinx community is the largest minority and the fastest growing in the United States, yet many of their health care and social needs are not often taken into account when developing programs. Many times, programs are not developed with the collaboration of community experts and not considering the needs of this community, like language and culturally appropriate materials, particularly in the area of children with special needs. We are seeing a marked increase in the cases of autism in our community. Going forward we hope that more appropriate programs could be developed to address the needs of this vibrant community.”
PATRICIA TELLEZ-GIRON, MD, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Co-Chair of the Dane County Latino Health Council