Autism-- Signs, Stats, and Facts

Due to the great breadth of autism spectrum disorders, there are many different symptoms and signs experienced by those afflicted. Some of the more common and characteristic signs and symptoms include:

• Delayed language development

• Avoiding eye contact

• Impulsive behavior

• Repetition of words and actions

• Hypersensitivity to stimuli

• Anxiety

Currently, 3.5 million people in the United States live with an autism spectrum disorder. In other words, 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with autism. Autism can be diagnosed starting as young as 2 years old. Of those diagnosed, 31% of children have a learning disability. Additionally, it is noteworthy that boys have a 4x greater chance of being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Males have a greater chance of developing autism due to them only having one X chromosome meaning they only have one copy of some genes causing mutations on that chromosome to be displayed, even when they are recessive.

There are many risk factors associated with autism spectrum disorders. For one, older parents have a higher risk of having offspring with autism. Additionally, babies born before 26 weeks have a greater risk of autism. Another notable risk factor is having other medical conditions which increase the likelihood of having autism spectrum disorder. For instance, someone with fragile X syndrome, which makes one more susceptible to having damage on their X chromosome, results in a nearly 50% chance of being diagnosed with autism for men and 16% for women compared to the average 1 in 44.