Important! And NOT an April Fool’s Joke!
Tomorrow is a very special day, especially for people like me: Autism Awareness Day! And yes, I am in the autism spectrum. So I have a favor to ask you: if you have not already planned your outfit for tomorrow, please plan to WEAR BLUE! The symbolic color of autism. I myself will do the same.
I don’t know if you ever noticed this, but the prevalence of autism in the United States, especially for children, has literally skyrocketed over the past half century. That rate rose from a reported
- 1 in 5,000 in 1975 to
- 1 in 2,500 in 1985 to
- 1 in 500 in 1995 to
- 1 in 250 in 2001 to
- 1 in 166 in 2004 to
- 1 in 150 in 2006 to
- 1 in 125 in 2008 to
- 1 in 110 in 2010 to
- 1 in 88 in 2012 to
- 1 in 68 in 2014 to
- 1 in 59 in 2018.
Today, that rate is yet even higher. Last week Autism Speaks announced, on Instagram and Facebook, that the Centers for Disease Control released their biennial–which means every other year–update of the prevalence of autism in children in America: 1 in 54!
Even though I posted it on April 1, remember that none of this is an April Fool’s joke!
About The Author
Brady Marshall
Former freelance voice talent and video editor on the autism spectrum, from the Ozarks region of Missouri, born and raised. I completed an Associate of Arts with Honors from Ozarks Technical Community College in 2018 and a Bachelor of Science in Digital Film & Television from Missouri State University in 2020. In college, I was a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks, and received the 2018 Outstanding Young Volunteer Award. I completed a paid internship at The Hive of the Ozarks in the spring and summer of 2022. The Hive is a café in Willard, Missouri, devoted to providing work experience and work skills to persons with disabilities.