Saturday, April 3, 2010

Some food for thought:

This is a subject near and dear to my heart! 

Here are some interesting facts about autism (from Autism Speaks):

Prevalence

* Autism affects 1 in 110 children - 1 in 70 boys
* Boys are 4 times more likely than girls to have autism
* Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the US
* More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined

Prevalence vs. Private Funding

* Leukemia: Affects 1 in 1,200 / Funding: $277 million
* Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 100,000 / Funding: $162 million
* Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $156 million
* Autism Spectrum Disorder: Affects 1 in 110 / Funding: $79 million

National Institute of Health Funds Allocation

* Total 2009 NIH budget: $35.9 billion
* Of this, $196 million goes directly to autism research. This represents 0.5% of total NIH funding.



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2 comments:

marsha said...

I did not realize the percentages. I have a dear friend whose sister has two sets of twins, both boys have autism, but the girls are fine.

Hugs,
Marsha

MiamiKel said...

Thank you sweet friend for passing this on. My 13 y/o niece has Autism and although we know she will never really have a good quality of life or live alone, we are grateful for a family that wraps around her with unconditional love and support! xoxo