Archived page. Restored as the Autism Society of California last published it (archived November 2021). The figures date from 2020, and the wording reflects that time.
Autism is an umbrella term for a group of complex disorders of brain development, characterized, to varying degrees, by:
- Difficulties in social interaction
- Impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication
- Repetitive behaviors
- Intellectual and/or functional disability, poor attention
- Sometimes, difficulties in coordination, and health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances
Autism has roots in very early abnormalities of brain development, but the most obvious signs of autism tend to emerge between 2 and 3 years of age.
Autism Rates have skyrocketed
National: The CDC identifies around 1 in 54 American children as on the autism spectrum, up from about 1 in 10,000 three decades ago.
California: California now counts more than 128,000 cases of severe, DDS-eligible autism in 2020, up from 3,262 just 25 years ago. This includes only those with severe functional limitations, if numbers of higher functioning but still disabled ASD individuals were included, the number would easily exceed 200,000.
Learn more
- Autism Society of America, autism-society.org