Autism Statistics

Autism statistics suggest that two to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. According to autism statistics, males are four times more likely to have autism than females. While autism statistics indicate that more children are getting special education services for the disorder than ever before, it is unclear how much of this increase is due to changes in how autistic people are identified and classified. Current autism statistics indicate that autism is more common than childhood cancer.

 

Autism Statistics: An Overview

Experts estimate that two to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
 
Therefore, it can be summarized that between 1 in 500 (2/1,000) to 1 in 166 children (6/1,000) have autism.
 
There is not a full population count of all individuals with autism in the United States. However, using the occurrence data stated above, we can estimate that if 4 million children are born in the United States every year, approximately 24,000 of these children will eventually be diagnosed with autism.
 
Assuming the occurrence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that up to 500,000 individuals younger than 21 have autism. However, many of these individuals may not be classified as having autism until school-age or later. Because behaviors related to autism are usually present before the age of 3, it is important to make sure the individuals are being identified and are receiving appropriate intervention services as early as possible.
 
(Autism Statistics Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD