Autism Presented by Mark on April 3

Mark presented a program update on autism. One in 68 births are diagnosed with autism. Most times the symptoms appear between age 2-3, 40% have average or above intelligence, 5 times as many boys as girls. The lifetime cost is $3.3 million; education cost thru high school is $18,000 (about 3X the average). The cause has both a genetic and environmental component. Signs include: no big smiles at 6 months, no back and forth sounds or babling at 12 months, and others. There is an online resource at MCHAT which has a test for autism. There are a spectrum of impairments, if you have met one person with autism, you've met only one case.