Facts About Autism All People Should Know

Autism, otherwise known as an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a developmental disorder that affects the nervous system and impairs one’s ability to communicate, interact, and understand other people’s feelings. Below are some facts about autism that everyone should know and remember

What Are Some Risk Factors of Autism? 

• There is no cause of autism.

• Genetics are involved in the majority of ASD cases.

  • Studies show that in cases of identical twins if one child has autism, the other will be affected around 36% to 95% of the time. 

  • In non-identical twins, if one child has autism, the other is affected about 31% of the time.

• Children born to older parents are also at a higher risk for having autism.

• Pregnancy and birth complications are also environmental risk factors (ex. Extreme prematurity, low birth weight)

• The above risk factors seem to give rise to autism by affecting crucial parts of early brain development. 

  • Some affect how brain cells, or neurons, communicate with each other.

  • Others affect how entire regions of the brain communicate together. 

• Mythbuster: Vaccines do not cause autism.

• It’s been shown that taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid before, after, and during pregnancy causes a decreased risk.  

Prevalence 

• ASD is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the United States; it’s more common than childhood cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined.

• In 2020, the CDC found that 1 in 54 children have ASD. 

  • It’s been shown to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. 

• Minority groups get diagnosed later and less often. Black and Hispanic children with autism were less likely to be evaluated by the age of 3 years old than white children with autism. 

  • There have been fewer found cases among Hispanic children than black, Asian, and white children. 

    • This means that there’s more of a need for screening and intervention among Hispanic children. 

• ASD is 4 times more common among boys than girls. 

  • A 2016 study found that while 1 in 144 girls are identified with autism, an estimate of 1 in 34 boys are identified with autism. 

• During a study period from 2009-2017, it was found that about 1 in 6 children (17%) were diagnosed with some developmental disability, including ASD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, and others. 

• 84% of 4-year olds had been first evaluated by the age of 3, which is an improvement to an earlier study that found 74%  of children are evaluated by 3 years old.  

• There are still large differences in the frequency of autism across different CDC monitoring sites. The frequency ranges from a low of 1 in 76 in Colorado to a high of 1 in 32 in New Jersey. 

  • This could be due to an inconsistent process of diagnosis and documentation in different communities. 

• Women remain an understudied group among people with autism.

  • However, it’s been found that women with autism will also differ in symptoms. Gender differences in symptoms have been found within areas of social understanding, social communication, and social imagination.

  • 23% of women with eating disorders are on the autism spectrum.

  • Women with autism in relationships experience sexual abuse in 9/14 cases. 

Adulthood 

• Because of the progression in the definition of autism over time, many adults who are now considered autistic never received an autism diagnosis. 

• A large group of young adults with autism does not receive any healthcare for years after they stop seeing a pediatrician.

• Teens with autism receive healthcare transition services half as often as those with other special healthcare needs. 

  • Young people whose autism is coupled with associated medical problems, which accounts for a large chunk of people with autism, are even less likely to receive transition support.

• Over half of young adults with autism remain unemployed or unenrolled in higher education in the two years following high school. 

  • This is a lower rate than that of young adults in other disability categories, including learning disabilities, intellectual disability, or speech-language impairment.

• Around 50%  of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job.

• Out of the ~18,000 people with ASD who used state-funded rehabilitation programs in 2014, only 60% attained a job at the end of the program. 

  • Of this 60%, 80% worked part-time and lived below the poverty level. 

• Past studies and research prove those job activities encouraging independence to reduce autism symptoms and increase daily living skills.

• Behavior-based interventions and services for adults with autism need to be carefully individualized. 

• According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Idaho, New Mexico, West Virginia, Montana, and Hawaii offer the least generous programs and services for adults with autism. 

  • The states with the most offering programs and services include California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Colorado, and Vermont. 

• Residential funding for adults with autism is scarce, and even more so for those who aren’t intellectually disabled. 

• Over the next decade, an estimated 707,000 to 1,116,000 teens will enter adulthood and age out of school-based autism services.

Associated Challenges 

• Mothers of children with ASD are less likely to work outside their homes. 

  • On average, they work fewer hours per week and earn 35% less than mothers of children who have other disabilities or disorders. 

  • Mothers of children with autism earn 56% less than mothers of children without any health limitation. 

• 44% of children with ASD have IQ scores that range from average to above average (meaning an IQ score above 85). 

  • 34% of kids with ASD have an intellectual disability, with an IQ score lower than 70. 

  • 25% are in the borderline range, from 71 to 85. 

• Almost 50% of people with autism wander and bolt from safety.

• Nearly ⅔  of children with ASD between the ages of 6 and 15 have been bullied.

• 40% of people with autism are nonverbal. 

• Nearly 28% of 8-year-olds with ASD have self-injurious behaviors including head banging, arm biting, and skin scratching. 

• Drowning is a leading cause of death for children with autism. It accounts for 90% of deaths associated with wandering by children aged 14 and younger.

Associated Medical and Mental Health Conditions 

• Nearly 10% of children with ASD have another genetic, neurological, or metabolic disorder. 

• Comorbid medical conditions in autism spectrum disorder are common. 

• They can include allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, feeding disorders, sleeping disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, cognitive impairments, and others. 

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects around 30% to 61% of children with autism.

• Over 50% of children with ASD have chronic sleeping disorders. 

• An estimated 11% to 40% of children and teenagers with autism experience anxiety disorders. 

• Depression affects around 7% of children and 26% of adults with autism.

• ⅓ of people with ASD develop epilepsy or seizure disorders. 

  • The rate of seizures in people with ASD is 10 times higher than the rate in the general population. 

• Schizophrenia affects between 4% to 35% of adults with autism, while 1.1% of the general population is affected by schizophrenia. 

• 32% of 2 to 5-year-olds with autism are overweight, and 16% are obese. 

  • By contrast, 23% of 2 to 5-year-olds in the general population are overweight,  and 10% are medically obese.

Intervention and Supports 

• Early behavior-based interventions have positive effects on some children with ASD while having neutral effects on other children. These services need to be based on individual children’s needs and learning styles. 

• The earlier it is detected, diagnosed, and treated—the better. 

  • Outcomes for children’s lives are significantly improved with early diagnosis and treatment. 

• Individuals with ASD can continuously improve symptoms throughout their life—especially with specialized, individualized services and opportunities for supported inclusion.

Financial Costs 

• ASD costs a family around $60,000 a year on average. 

  • Costs also increase for children with autism with the occurrence of intellectual disability. 

• According to a study by Autism Speaks, the lifetime cost of autism ranges from  $1.4 million to $2.4 million.

  • This cost of lifelong care can be reduced by ⅔ with early diagnosis and intervention. 

• The economic cost of caring for people with autism in America reached $268 billion in 2015 and is projected to rise to $461 billion by 2025 if there are no improvements made to the efficiency of interventions and support services by then. 

  • These 2015 figures are around the same level as recent estimates for the cost of diabetes and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    • The 2015 costs of ASD exceeded the costs of stroke and hypertension

  • The majority of these costs cover adult services, from around $175 to $196 billion a year, while the costs for children range from $61 to $66 billion a year. 

• Medical funds for people with ASD are 4.1 to 6.2 times greater than for those without autism. 

• The Passage of autism insurance legislation in all 50 states is providing access to increasing medical treatment and therapies.

• The 2014 Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allows tax-preferred savings accounts for people with disabilities, including ASD, to be established by states.

• Few studies have analyzed the nonmedical costs of lifelong care for people with autism. 

Lastly, always remember that every person with autism spectrum disorder is different. They are each unique individuals, whose symptoms may vary. Their creative skills, intellectual abilities, abilities to communicate, and passions will all differ, just like people without ASD.