The numbers are changing and growing when it comes to incidences of Type 1 diabetes, but some facts remain the same. It is, for the most part, a disease that strikes in childhood and at all ages of childhood.

Age Breakdowns

Researchers used to be able to say with all confidence that a vast majority of children with Type 1 diabetes are diagnosed around puberty. For a time, scientists believed hormonal changes might be one of the triggers for onset. Today, however, more and more children are being diagnosed at every age from two weeks to adulthood.

Although more and more infants are being diagnosed, it is still thought that only about one percent of children with diabetes are one year old or less. Fewer than 10 percent are five years old or younger.

While practitioners are diagnosing more young children, the fact still remains that adolescents are diagnosed most often. According to Children's Hospital in Boston, which has a pediatric endocrine department, the average age of diagnosis is right around puberty—about ten to twelve years old for girls and twelve to fourteen years old for boys.

That does not mean that if your child has passed puberty, there is no chance for him to be diagnosed with diabetes. Older people, from young adults to those in their forties, are now showing signs of Type 1 diabetes. This can be shocking to an adult, and even to her medical team, because most people assume that diabetes symptoms in an adult must be Type 2. As a result, Type 2 is no longer called adult onset diabetes.

How Many Families Are Out There?

Parents often feel completely alone when their child is diagnosed with diabetes. But the fact is there are thousands of families out there just like you. While they may not be right on your street, they are certainly in your community or nearby.

One of the reasons diabetes totals can differ from source to source is that unlike other diseases, diabetes has not yet been officially tracked by the Centers for Disease Control. However, that effort is now under way as the five-year Tracking Diabetes in Youth Program, and diabetes advocates hope to have real numbers in the near future. One thing is known for sure: The numbers are growing. Pediatric diabetes centers across the nation report increases in newly diagnosed children.

If this is true, why do you and your child feel alone? With estimates of one in every 600 or so children developing Type 1 diabetes, there's a good chance your child could be the only one in his school with Type 1. But if you look farther, you'll find others.