Facts About ASD
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives; others need less. A diagnosis of ASD now includes several conditions that used to be diagnosed separately: Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger Syndrome. These conditions now fall under the umbrella of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Signs and Symptoms
Those with ASD often have problems with social, emotional, and communication skills. They might repeat certain behaviors and might not want change in their daily activities. Many people with ASD also have different ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to things. Signs of ASD begin during early childhood and typically last throughout a person’s life. Children or adults with ASD might:
Not point at objects to show interest (for example, not point at an airplane flying over)
Not look at objects when another person points at them
Have trouble relating to others or not have an interest in other people at all
Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
Have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
Prefer not to be held or cuddled, or might cuddle only when they want to
Appear to be unaware when people talk to them, but respond to other sounds
Be very interested in people, but not know how to talk, play, or relate to them
Repeat or echo words or phrases said to them, or repeat words or phrases in place of normal language
Have trouble expressing their needs using typical words or motions
Not play “pretend” games (for example, not pretend to “feed” a doll)
Repeat actions over and over again
Have trouble adapting when a routine changes
Have unusual reactions to the way things smell, taste, look, feel, or sound
Lose skills they once had (for example, stop saying words they were using)
Autism Statistics
Economic Costs
It is estimated to cost at least $17,000 more per year to care for a child with ASD compared to a child without ASD. Costs include health care, education, ASD-related therapy, family-coordinated services, and caregiver time. For a child with more severe ASD, costs per year increase to over $21,000. Taken together, it is estimated that total societal costs of caring for children with ASD were over $9 billion in 2011.[Read article]
Children and adolescents with ASD had average medical expenditures that exceeded those without ASD by $4,110–$6,200 per year. On average, medical expenditures for children and adolescents with ASD were 4.1–6.2 times greater than for those without ASD. Differences in median expenditures ranged from $2,240 to $3,360 per year with median expenditures 8.4–9.5 times greater. [Read article]
In 2005, the average annual medical costs for Medicaid-enrolled children with ASD were $10,709 per child, which was about six times higher than costs for children without ASD ($1,812).[Read summary]
In addition to medical costs, intensive behavioral interventions for children with ASD cost $40,000 to $60,000 per child per year.
