Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Statistics and Prevalence

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by:

- Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts;
- Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities;
- Presence of symptoms in the early developmental period (typically recognized in the first two years of life); and
- Symptoms that cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

Key ASD Statistics

1. About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
2. ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
3. ASD is about 4.5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than among girls (1 in 189).
4. Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with ASD with an average prevalence of between 1% and 2%.
5. About 1 in 6 children in the United States had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism.