For many children, symptoms improve with treatment and with age. Some children with autism grow up to lead normal or near-normal lives. Children, whose language skills regress early in life, usually before the age of 3, appear to be at risk of developing epilepsy or seizure-like brain activity.

During adolescence, some children with autism may become depressed or experience behavioral problems. Parents of these children should be ready to adjust treatment for their child as needed.

Statistics on Autism

Autism is one of the most common developmental disabilities. Individuals are of all races and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Current estimates suggest that approximately 400,000 individuals in the United States have autism.

Autism is three to four times more likely to affect boys than girls. It occurs in individuals of all levels of intelligence. Approximately 75 percent are of low intelligence, while 10 percent may demonstrate high intelligence in specific areas such as math.

Autism is a brain disorder that too often results in a lifetime of impaired thinking, feeling, and social functioning — our most uniquely human attributes. It typically affects a person’s ability to communicate, form relationships with others, and respond appropriately to the external world. The disorder becomes apparent in children generally by the age of 3.

Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders.

Other autism spectrum disorders include:

• Asperger syndrome
• Rett syndrome
• Childhood disintegrative disorder
• Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).

Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have it than females. Girls with autism tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment.