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Friday, January 8, 2010

Adults and Autism

Luann Hinkle, the mother of a high-functioning young adult on the spectrum, writes of a noteworthy trend:
Things just aren’t getting better, and individuals with autism are growing up. Now we need to include school-aged children, teenagers and young adults in our mental snapshot. The number of autistic children expected to need extensive adult services by 2023 - more than 380,000 people - is roughly equal to the population of inneapolis. And, the bill for autistic children entering adulthood over the next 15 years is an estimated $27 billion annually in current, non-inflation-adjusted dollars by the end of that period.

There are surprisingly few stats on American adults on the spectrum, but a British study casts some light. See a Time article on this study.