Autism Facts and Statistics

• 1 in 91 children (formally 1 in 150 up until 2009 and 1 in 10,000 in the early 1990s)

• 4:1 ratio of boys to girls

• 1 in 58 boys

• Fastest growing developmental disability

• More than 100 billion in estimated annual costs

• In ten years the annual costs are projected at 200-400 billion.

• Cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3rds with early intervention

• A family with a child with autism will fund 3 to 5 million dollars of services throughout the lifetime of the child.

• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than cancer, diabetes, Downs Syndrome and AIDS combined.

• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of most of the more prevalent childhood disorders.

• Approximately 1 million individuals in the US have autism

Incidence vs. Private Funding (2007)

• Environmental toxins like mercury and pesticides can trigger autism.

• There has been no study that has directly linked a pure genetics basis for autism.

• The fastest growing genetic disorders increase at anapproximate rate of 1% per 100 years.  Autism is growing at a much greater rate.