This April marks the 43rd annual National Autism Awareness
Month, which has been kicked off by the World Autism Day every
April 2 since 2007. As we celebrate autism awareness issues this
month, its important to understand some key statistics about the
state of autism in 2013: - Autism is the fastest-growing
developmental disability with a 1,148% growth rate. - Every 11
minutes, a child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.
- 1 in 88 children in the United States is on the autism
spectrum; 1 in 54 boys. - 1 percent of the population of
children in the U.S. ages 3-17 have an autism spectrum disorder.
- Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 88 births. - 1.5 million
Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder. The Autism
Awareness Month kicked off with the World Autism Awareness Day.
World Autism Awareness Day is one of only three official health-
related United Nations Days with the goal of bringing the
world's attention to autism. On April 2, countries all over the
world participated in a dramatic “Light