PRINTIt Figures: Autism
See the amount of money that the U.S. has spent on autism research.
April 26, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
1 in 88
The number of children aged 8 or younger in the U.S. who will be diagnosed with autism. This is up from 2000, when it was estimated that 1 in 500 U.S. children had autism.
15 in 10,000
The amount of people estimated to have autism in the U.S. in 1943, in the first ever projection of people affected by the disorder. Leo Kanner, the world’s first identified child psychiatrist, published this statistic in his paper, “Autistic Disturbance of Affective Contact.” This paper is considered the foundation of modern autism study.
Related Articles3
The age that most children with severe autism are diagnosed. This is also the age that most children begin to speak clearly enough for strangers to understand them, tell stories and understand the concepts of counting and time.
21
In 2010, Missouri was the 21st state to pass legislation reforming autism insurance. Before 2010, if someone was diagnosed with autism they received no financial assistance in paying for up to $72,000 a year for treatment.
56
The percentage of students with autism who will graduate from high school. That is significantly lower than the 75 percent of total students in the U.S. who graduate on time from high school.
1943
The year Donald Gray Triplett, a little boy in Forest, Miss., became the first person diagnosed with autism. Today he’s 77 years old and still living in his hometown.
1967
The year that researchers classified autism under schizophrenia in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Later in the same decade, doctors began to realize that the two weren’t necessarily linked and autism began to be researched and treated as a single disorder.
$72,000
The average amount of money it costs to provide constant care per year for someone with high-functioning autism. The average cost to attend a public, four-year university for four years is $64,560. Imagine paying more than that each year for your entire life.
$7,000,000
The amount of money raised for Autism research in Missouri since 2003 when the walk program began. The walk program is Autism Speaks’ signature fundraiser. Three walks are held in Missouri each year: St. Louis (largest), Kansas City (second largest) and Southwest Missouri (Springfield).
$225,000,000
The amount of money spent each year in the U.S. on autism research. This research stopped autism treatments such as LSD, electric shock and therapy behavioral change techniques, which were popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
For anyone who's interested in learning more about autism or getting involved with fundraising or increasing awareness, contact me! I'm the 2012-2013 president of Autism Speaks U at Mizzou. Any MU undergraduate or graduate student is welcome to join. My email is jebwyb@mail.missouri.edu
Posted by Jennifer Bennett on May 1, 2012 at 8:18 a.m. (Report Comment)