Press Release: Autism Society of America Celebrates Differences for Autism Acceptance Month
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and the Autism Society of Florida is part of a national organization that offers Programs for Safety, Employment, and Social Issues.
​
Rockville, MD, March 18, 2024— This April, the Autism Society of America is inviting the Autism community to be the connection to resources, acceptance, and each other. Autism Acceptance Month kicks off on April 1st, and the Autism Society celebrates the varied experiences within the Autism community and highlights the critical need for us to turn acceptance into action.
​
Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States with increasing prevalence rates continuing to create the urgent need for equitable supports and services. 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with Autism, which can be attributed to a variety of factors, primarily improved diagnostic screening and identification, as well as an increased prevalence rate itself.
​
“Autism Acceptance Month provides us with an opportunity to take action through acceptance to provide the Autism community with the supports, services, and resources needed,“ states Christopher Banks, President and CEO of the Autism Society of America. “The Autism Society has continued to develop strategic initiatives that break down systemic barriers, and creates more equitable solutions through programs like Safety on the Spectrum, Employment, and the Autism Justice Center.”
The Autism Society’s Safety on the Spectrum programs include a focus on First Responder training, Water Safety and Wandering prevention, and further deliverables in support of the Kevin & Avonte Law. In addition to safety, employment and social justice issues programs, including the Autism Justice Center, our health equity priorities expanded our Vaccine Education Initiative to address systemic barriers and promotes vaccine education, confidence and access. Lastly, the Autism Society offers a National Helpline which provides information and referral services to connect the community to the resources they need – our nationwide network of helplines support more than 130,000 people per year.
​
As a part of our #CelebrateDifferences theme, which highlights the infinite ways in which people experience life and how we can take action to provide the support that’s needed, the Autism Society will travel nationwide to collect community stories with our “Road to Acceptance” project. This mobile video studio will engage community members to reflect on acts of acceptance, moments of challenges, and opportunities for greater inclusion. Stay tuned for more information about this campaign as it kicks off.
About the Autism Society of America
The Autism Society of America is dedicated to creating connections, empowering everyone in the Autism community with the resources needed to live fully. As the nation’s oldest leading grassroots Autism organization, the Autism Society and its approximately 70 affiliates serve over half a million people each year. By championing initiatives that advance equitable opportunities in healthcare, education, employment, safety, and public policy, the organization executes a national reach, with meaningful local impact. Through education, advocacy, support and community programming, the Autism Society works towards a world in which everyone is connected to the support they need, when they need it.
​
The ADDM Network Details Autism Prevalence Rate Increases to 1 in 31 Children.
​
2025 - CDC Report –
Description of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is an active surveillance program that estimates prevalence and characteristics of ASD and monitors timing of ASD identification among children aged 4 and 8 years. In 2022, a total of 16 sites (located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas [two sites: Austin and Laredo], Utah, and Wisconsin) conducted surveillance for ASD among children aged 4 and 8 years and suspected ASD among children aged 4 years. Surveillance included children who lived in the surveillance area at any time during 2022. Children were classified as having ASD if they ever received 1) an ASD diagnostic statement in a comprehensive developmental evaluation, 2) autism special education eligibility, or 3) an ASD International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code in the 299 range or International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code of F84.0, F84.3, F84.5, F84.8, or F84.9. Children aged 4 years were classified as having suspected ASD if they did not meet the case definition for ASD but had an evaluator’s suspicion of ASD documented in a comprehensive developmental evaluation.
​
Results: Among children aged 8 years in 2022, ASD prevalence was 32.2 per 1,000 children (one in 31) across the 16 sites, ranging from 9.7 in Texas (Laredo) to 53.1 in California. The overall observed prevalence estimate was similar to estimates calculated using Bayesian hierarchical and random effects models. ASD was 3.4 times as prevalent among boys (49.2) than girls (14.3). Overall, ASD prevalence was lower among non-Hispanic White (White) children (27.7) than among Asian or Pacific Islander (A/PI) (38.2), American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) (37.5), non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) (36.6), Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) (33.0), and multiracial children (31.9). No association was observed between ASD prevalence and neighborhood median household income (MHI) at 11 sites; higher ASD prevalence was associated with lower neighborhood MHI at five sites.
​
Record abstraction was completed for 15 of the 16 sites for 8,613 children aged 8 years who met the ASD case definition. Of these 8,613 children, 68.4% had a documented diagnostic statement of ASD, 67.3% had a documented autism special education eligibility, and 68.9% had a documented ASD ICD-9 or ICD-10 code. All three elements of the ASD case definition were present for 34.6% of children aged 8 years with ASD.
​
Among 5,292 (61.4% of 8,613) children aged 8 years with ASD with information on cognitive ability, 39.6% were classified as having an intellectual disability. Intellectual disability was present among 52.8% of Black, 50.0% of AI/AN, 43.9% of A/PI, 38.8% of Hispanic, 32.7% of White, and 31.2% of multiracial children with ASD. The median age of earliest known ASD diagnosis was 47 months and ranged from 36 months in California to 69.5 months in Texas (Laredo).
​
Cumulative incidence of ASD diagnosis or eligibility by age 48 months was higher among children born in 2018 (aged 4 years in 2022) than children born in 2014 (aged 8 years in 2022) at 13 of the 15 sites that were able to abstract records. Overall cumulative incidence of ASD diagnosis or eligibility by age 48 months was 1.7 times as high among those born in 2018 compared with those born in 2014 and ranged from 1.4 times as high in Arizona and Georgia to 3.1 times as high in Puerto Rico. Among children aged 4 years, for every 10 children meeting the case definition of ASD, one child met the definition of suspected ASD.
​
Children with ASD who were born in 2018 had more evaluations and identification during ages 0–4 years than children with ASD who were born in 2014 during the 0–4 years age window, with an interruption in the pattern in early 2020 coinciding with onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
​
Overall, 66.5% of children aged 8 years with ASD had a documented autism test. Use of autism tests varied widely across sites: 24.7% (New Jersey) to 93.5% (Puerto Rico) of children aged 8 years with ASD had a documented autism test in their records. The most common tests documented for children aged 8 years were the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Autism Spectrum Rating Scales, Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, and Social Responsiveness Scale.
Established in 2000, the ADDM Network is the only network to track the number and characteristics of Autistic children and other developmental disabilities in multiple communities throughout the United States. This data provides important information from which researchers, policymakers, and service providers are able to make important decisions about how to best serve these individuals and their families. However, it is important to note that these estimates are based on 8-year-old children living in 11 community sites, and do not reflect the entire population of children in the United States. The Autism Society has continuously urged the CDC to increase its population data by expanding the number of sites and diversity of populations. Learn more about the ADDM sites here. 
​
See the full prevalence and early identification reports published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on the CDC website.
​
Visit this website to learn more about autism and screening and diagnosis.
​
​
-
Autism in the US impacts 1 in 31 children currently. Fifty years ago, this rate was 2 to 4 children per 10,000.
-
Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.
-
Average age of autism diagnosis is 4-5 years old.
-
37.9% of people with autism have average or above-average intellectual ability.
-
35-40% of those with autism have epilepsy (seizures)
-
Approximately 25% of individuals with autism don’t verbally communicate.
-
ASD is reported to occur across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
-
The exact causes of autism are not known, but it is believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
-
There are 57,630 students in Florida public schools with the ASD eligibility. This does not include those in private school or who are homeschooled.
-
Children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown.
-
85-90% of adults with autism are under or unemployed.
-
Approximately 70% have at least one co-occurring condition, such as depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, etc
We need safeguards in place
Mother distraught over alleged abuse of 5-year-old son by teacher’s aide at Dania Beach school
DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Ahilyn Zamora’s five-year-old son, Jaylin, used to love school, enjoying writing his name and engaging in activities like coloring in books. However, that changed when he confided in his mother about an alarming situation at Collins Elementary in Dania Beach.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/broward/mother-distraught-over-alleged-abuse-of-5-year-old-son-by-teachers-aide-at-dania-beach-school/?fbclid=IwAR0MhzUD7jdI1vxRqDUjM_5dPJsaPRzSzAsy5PTSFV0MF-lP4IiMj1NYhGw