The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that there is a 23% increase in autism cases from 2006 to 2008, and a 78% increase since 2002. The largest increases are among black and Hispanic children, who have lagged behind whites in the past. Numbers are higher for boys with one in 54 8-year-olds now considered to have autism. No one knows why the condition is five times more likely to affect boys than girls.
The impact of this information on schools is dynamic. Schools which provide Special Education Services for autistic young people needs to expand its programs for them. Difficult when school education budgets are being reduced.