Pinning Down Autism: About Autism

“It is as though 1 in 150 of our children are being kidnapped”
- Bradley Whitford of The West Wing

Autism is a developmental disability that affects, in different forms and to varying degrees, a person's ability to communicate and socially interact with others. Those afflicted range from individuals who are simply disassociated with their environment and those around them, to people with little to no spoken language and severe developmental delays, to people who will remain dependant upon round the clock care to for their entire lives.

Most autistic children have the same emotions as other children. They have the same need for love and comfort, and desire to play and have fun. Just like you and I, they wish to be treated with respect and consideration.

Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls.

Autism’s most defining trait is that it is characterized by extraordinary variability. Like snowflakes, no two autistic people are alike.

• 1 in 110 children is diagnosed with autism
• 1 in 70 boys is 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 $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

• 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: $15 million

A famous quote by legendary wrestler and Coach Dan Gable states: “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” While this is absolutely true, every rule has an exception. The exception to this rule has been found.

We invite you to view a video clip that brings you into the world of autism. For the complete video series, visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/video/index.php.

Most states do not require private insurance companies to cover even essential autism treatments and services. In the absence of coverage, families often pay as much as they can out-of-pocket for services that can cost upwards of $50,000 per year, often risking their homes and the educations of their unaffected children – essentially mortgaging their entire futures. A bill introduced on 4/18/07 seeks to change that.

The puzzle piece logo was first created in 1963 by the National Autistic Society. They explain “that the symbol of the Society should be the puzzle as this did not look like any other commercial or charitable one as far as they could discover. The puzzle piece is so effective because it tells us something about autism: our children are handicapped by a puzzling condition; this isolates them from normal human contact and therefore they do not 'fit in'.”

Since then, the interlocking, mutli-colored puzzle piece has become the international symbol of autism. Its significance has become multi-faceted. For some it represents the mystery and complexity of the disorder, for others it represents the mechanical nature of an autistics persons thought process. The bright colors are said to represent hope.