The first World Autism Day is marked on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 aiming to bring attention to Autism and the affects on families dealing with the disorder. The number of children diagnosed with autism has grown from one in two thousand in 1980 to one in one hundred and fifty (one in ninety-four boys) children born in the United States in 2008. The reasons for the increase in autism diagnoses are due to doctors being better able to recognize the disorder and and to the diagnosis of autism now including a variety, or spectrum, of disorders with different symptoms. Fast Facts:

1. Symptons of autism appear before age 3
2. No known cure for autism
3. No known cause
4. Males four times more likely to be affected than females
5. Symptoms include: Unresponsiveness to name, not following directions, staring into space, social interaction is limited, repetitive behavior