According to the Autism Society of Canada, autism now affects at least one in every 200 Canadian children. The reported number of cases has risen by 150% since 2003. Similarly, in the United States, Autism cases are also on the rise, according to a 2007 study by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

With no cure, the lifelong costs to care for and treat a child with autism, include therapeutic and caregivers costs which can be in the tens of thousands of dollars per year.

What is Autism’s impact on the community?  

According to the Ontario Government, an autistic individual who doesn’t receive effective treatment will accumulate an estimated average lifetime cost of $2 million on the health care system. At this rate, provinces would spend an average of $4.6 billion a year on autism-related costs. Early detection, intervention and treatment can reduce these costs by 50%.

Children with autism need to learn in a gradual and systematic way, and therapy is the difference between a lifetime of disability, and a productive future for an autistic child.