Archived post from April 2015. The figures and wording reflect that date. The image from the original post was not preserved.
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Full report available at http://www.sfautismsociety.org/uploads/1/1/7/4/11747519/autism_rising_2015.pdf (archived copy)
New Report: Adult Autism to Triple in California in Next Ten Years
There are currently 76,000 citizens with more severe forms of autism in the state of California, representing a 28-fold increase since 1987, according to a new report released today by the Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area. The full report, based on data from the California Department of Developmental Services, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Department of Education, can be found at sfautismsociety.org.
Other key findings of the report, called “Autism Rising,” include:
- Every year, nearly 5,000 new autism cases enter the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) system.
- 1.2% of all male births in California in 2008 were diagnosed with autism and deemed eligible for inclusion in the DDS system, which admits only cases of substantial disability.
- As a result of the steep escalation in autism cases, adult autism rates in California will double in the next five years and triple over the next ten.
“The issues faced by our community today in terms of an insufficiency of resources to meet the widely diverse needs of individuals with autism will be amplified three-fold in the next ten years,” said Carrie Molho, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Clinical Manager at San Andreas Regional Center, a Bay Area DDS-contracted agency that funds services for the developmentally disabled. Dr. Molho also emphasizes that while diagnostic shifts or better awareness have been suggested as causes for the rapid rise of cases, “those factors only account for a small percentage of the overall increases seen.”
The report calls for structural reform and increased funding for all areas of services for the burgeoning population of disabled autistic children and adults, individuals who exhibit severe functional, communication, behavioral and social limitations and require ongoing care and support.