Roughly 1 percent of children in the United States - 1 in 110 - have autism, with developmental disabilities running from slight to severe.

Autism occurs in children of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but disorders are four to five times more likely in boys than girls.

Studies of identical twins show that if one has autism, the other will be affected 60 percent to 96 percent of the time. In nonidentical twins, if one has autism, the other is affected 0 percent to 24 percent of the time.

Parents who have a child with autism have a 2 percent to 8 percent chance of having another affected child.

A 2009 report showed that 41 percent of children with autism also had an Intellectual Disability - an IQ of 70 or below.

About 40 percent of children with autism don't talk at all, and an additional 25 percent to 30 percent have some words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. Others may speak, but not until later in childhood.

On average, medical expenses for someone with an autism are about five times higher than for those without an ASD.

(From: www.cdc.gov)