• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 50 American children.
• Autism crosses all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.
• Autism is 5 times more common in boys than girls.
• Families with a child with autism spend an annual average of 6.2 times more on medical expenses… and 9.5 times more on annual living expenses.
• Not to mention the emotional, mental, and physical demands of caring for a child with autism.

We, as a community, can do better…

• These families need to know that they are not alone.
• It is up to each one of us to increase our understanding – to help these children to reach their full potential.
• We can have a greater understanding of autism, and a greater understanding of these individual children.
• Many of these children are the most intelligent people that you will ever know.
• Most of them possess compassion and the ability to love more deeply than we can imagine.

These children will be a significant part of our future, and we must provide opportunities for them to flourish.