Did you know ?
- 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with autism
- Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
- 1 in 96 boys are on the autism spectrum
- 67 children are diagnosed per day
- A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
- More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
- Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
- Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, increasing each year
- Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
- Approximately 1 million individuals in the US have autism
Incidence vs. Private Funding
- Leukemia: Affects 1 in 25,000 / Funding: $310 million
- Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 20,000 / Funding: $175 million
- Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 8,000 / Funding: $394 million
- Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $130 million
- Autism: Affects 1 in 150 / Funding: $42 million
National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation
- Total 2007 NIH budget: $29 billion
- Of this, $80 million goes directly to autism research. This represents 0.28% of total NIH funding.
Statics
- Studies have shown that environmental toxins like mercury and pesticides have been a major contributor to autism.
- There has been no study that has directly linked a pure genetics basis for autism.
- The fastest growing genetic disorders are approximately 1% per 100 years; autism is much greater than that.
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