The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently adopted a new classification of autism and provided a breakdown of the number of children on the severe versus milder ends of the spectrum.
A study by the federal health agency published on April 19 in the Public Health Reports journal found that 26.7 percent of 8-year-old children with autism have “profound autism.”
This indicates more than 110,000 elementary school-age children in the United States have profound autism.
Children with “profound autism” are on the more severe end of the spectrum, meaning they are nonverbal, minimally verbal, or have an IQ of less than 50….