Name
#104 Autism Spectrum Disorder in U.S. Military Children as Described by the U.S. Census Bureau from 2016 to 2023
Speakers
Content Presented On Behalf Of:
Other entity not listed
Session Type
Poster
Date
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Start Time
5:00 PM
End Time
7:00 PM
Location
Prince Georges Expo Hall E
Focus Areas/Topics
Trending/Hot Topics or Other not listed
Learning Outcomes
1. Children covered by Tricare (or other military insurance) are 31% more likely to have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than civilian insurance.
2. Children of US military mothers are 46% more likely and, of fathers, 42% more likely to have ASD than children of non-military mothers and fathers.
3. Children where both parents serve are 56% more likely to have ASD, 63% if both were active-duty, implying compounding exposure response.
4. Exposure response is demonstrated as ASD children of fathers serving were: 22% more likely they served in the National Guard/Reserves; 39% more likely if they were active-duty and not deployed; 67% more likely if they were active-duty and deployed.
5. Severity response is demonstrated as ASD children of fathers, compared to children of non-military fathers, were: 37% more likely to be diagnosed with mild ASD; 46% more likely to be diagnosed with moderate ASD; and 83% more likely to be diagnosed with severe ASD.
2. Children of US military mothers are 46% more likely and, of fathers, 42% more likely to have ASD than children of non-military mothers and fathers.
3. Children where both parents serve are 56% more likely to have ASD, 63% if both were active-duty, implying compounding exposure response.
4. Exposure response is demonstrated as ASD children of fathers serving were: 22% more likely they served in the National Guard/Reserves; 39% more likely if they were active-duty and not deployed; 67% more likely if they were active-duty and deployed.
5. Severity response is demonstrated as ASD children of fathers, compared to children of non-military fathers, were: 37% more likely to be diagnosed with mild ASD; 46% more likely to be diagnosed with moderate ASD; and 83% more likely to be diagnosed with severe ASD.
Session Currently Live
Description
Objectives: The investigators examined the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as related to the US military and as collected by the US Census Bureau’s National Survey of Children’s Health.
Methods: Six questions asked of respondents allow for the inspection of ASD as it pertains to military insurance and active duty status (either past or present) of the parents.
Results: Contemporary to the survey, Tricare (or other military insurance) covered children were 30.73% more likely to have an ASD diagnosis than their civilian counterparts. Children of mothers with any military service were 46.19% more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than children of non-military service mothers, with with the greatest portion diagnosed with severe autism (46.33% for mild ASD, 39.62% for moderate ASD, and 60.50% for severe ASD). Similarly, children of fathers with any military service were 42.74% more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than children of non-military service fathers, with increasing severity (37.37% for mild ASD, 45.64% for moderate ASD, and 82.73% for severe ASD). The odds of an ASD child increased with the greater level of military engagement as children of: National Guard/Reserve fathers were 21.93% more likely; active duty and not deployed fathers were 38.79% more likely; active duty and deployed fathers were 66.86% more likely. If both mother and father served in the military the children were 56.15% more likely to be diagnosed with ASD, and 63.10% more likely if both parents were ever on active duty.
Conclusion: The severity of the results warrant an investigation, with all due haste, with domain-specific US military data that link mother-child and father-child medical records and include suspected or shared toxic exposure of either mother or father and their children.