Prevalence
Autism is the most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders, affecting an estimated 1 in 88 births in the United States. This means as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism and the numbers are increasing. Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other government agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17% per year.
According to the recent data of CDC published in March 26,2020 :
One in 54 children had a diagnosis of ASD by age 8 in 2016, a nearly 10 percent increase over 2014 when the estimate was 1 in 59.
ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
The number of children who had a developmental screening by age 3 increased from 74 percent to 84 percent, a sign of potential progress toward earlier and more consistent screening by healthcare providers.
Boys are four times as likely to be diagnosed as girls, holding steady from previous reports. This indicates the need for more research to understand the gap in prevalence and ensure girls on the spectrum are receiving the care they need
Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with ASD with an average of about 1%. A study in South Korea reported a prevalence of 2.6%.
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.
Rough estimates suggest as population of Person with Autism in India as two million, US 1.5 million, China 1.1 million, UK 0.65 million, The Philippines half million, Thailand 0.18 million and Mexico about 0.15 million.
There are no reliable estimate for Nepal as autism is not known to many people. There is a lack of awareness amongst people and diagnosis on this is weak. It is estimated that there are about 2,50,000-3,00,000 Person with Autism (PWAs) in Nepal. Among them about 60,000-90,000 PWAs are severely affected.
Autism knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries; economic status; lifestyle choices; or educational levels, and can affect any family and any child. Although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.
Reference: www.cdc.gov
(Centre for Disease Control & Prevention, US)