Post on 18-Dec-2015
FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY
2008 Public Opinion Survey on Awareness of Autism
About the Survey
• August of 2008
• Telephone interviews with 1000 randomly selected men and women 21 years old or older
• Plus or Minus 3.1% Confidence Interval
• 95% Level of Confidence
DemographicsEthnicity:
69% White16% Black, African American 7% Hispanic 2% Asian 1% Native American 2% Mixed Educational Attainment:
47% Less than an Associates Degree10% Two-year associate's degree25% Four-year bachelor's degree19% Masters or beyond
Additional Demographics
Regional Representation: 21% Northeast25% Midwest35% South20% West
Hometown: 26% Urban30% Suburban27% Small Town17% Rural
Income:14% Under $25,00018% $25,000 - $50,00025% $51,000- $100,00010% $101,000 - $150,000 4% Over $150,00029% Refused
Additional Demographics
Which childhood health issues should be the highest national priority?
24% Child abuse and neglect issues16% Childhood leukemia13% Juvenile diabetes12% Childhood obesity 8% Don't know 7% Autism 7% Pediatric AIDS 4% Asthma 3% Muscular dystrophy 2% Attention deficit disorder 2% All of them; cannot prioritize 1% Down syndrome
Prioritizing Childhood Health Issues Very high &
high priorityModerate priority
Low priority
Child abuse 83% 12% 3%
Juvenile diabetes 81% 13% 4%
Childhood leukemia 80% 15% 3%
Autism 72% 19% 4%
Muscular dystrophy 72% 22% 3%
Childhood obesity 71% 21% 7%
Pediatric AIDS 70% 21% 4%
Asthma 67% 27% 4%
Down syndrome 62% 27% 6%
ADD 53% 34% 10%
When you think about childhood health issues, where would you rank autism as a major health concern?
26% Among the top three childhood health issues60% In the top ten childhood health issues 8% A less important childhood health issue 6% Can't rank
How familiar are respondents with autism spectrum disorders or ASD?
9% Very familiar17% Familiar42% Somewhat familiar32% Not familiar
Know Someone with Autism
39% of the respondents said they knew someone with autism
46% were very familiar or familiar with this autistic person
Most Obvious Behavior21% Would not interact with other children
11% Very noisy
10% Not one behavior stands out
9% Very quiet
9% Would not look me in the eyes
8% Inability to communicate
7% Very rough
6% Very shy
5% Uncontrollable actions; tantrums
4% Very active
4% Self-abusive behavior
4% Withdrawn; unresponsive
At the time of the birth of your child or children, how well informed were you about autism? 5% Very informed
13% Informed somewhat
26% Had a little information
56% Had no information
85% Yes
6% Informed somewhat
26% Had a little information
Do you feel better informed now?
How concerned were parents that their child would be autistic? 4% Extremely concerned
7% Very concerned
13% Slightly concerned
63% Not concerned at all
14% Not aware of autism
How Public Gets Info on Autism
37% Television News Stories (national/ local)34% Newspaper and Magazines23% Internet10% Word of mouth 9% Parent or family of autistic individual 3% Professional Publications 2% Physician
Level of Confidence in Medical Community
Source A great deal
Some Very little or none
Your personal physician 65% 23% 7%
Hospitals 35% 50% 14%
Scientific research community
32% 47% 12%
Medical community overall 30% 57% 15%
National Institutes of Health 21% 38% 14%
Pharmaceutical companies 17% 45% 36%
Health insurance companies 14% 41% 43%
What the Public Knows to be True & Factual
True
Autism occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups
83%
Autistic people of all ages can benefit from treatment
82%
Currently there is no cure for autism 79%
In some cases, treatments can help people with autism function at near-normal levels
78%
Autism lasts throughout a person's life 75%
Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities
88%
Even today, there is a great deal that researchers, scientists, and health care providers don't know about autism
87%
Autism causes delays or problems in many different skills that arise from infancy to adulthood
85%
Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills and cognitive function
84%
What the Public Knows to be True & Factual
Assessment and Treatment of Autism
Strongly Agree or AgreeEarly diagnosis of autism and intervention of autism
is important94%
Behavioral therapists are key individuals in the treatment of people with autism
77%
Behavior therapies are the most effective way to get autistic individuals to maximize their capabilities
73%
What the Public Does Not Know% Who Didn’t
Know
Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism 56%
Autism is caused by a preservative once found in childhood vaccines
43%
There is a strong genetic component to autism 37%
There are no approved drugs specifically for the treatment of autism or its causes
35%
Autism and related conditions affect an average of 1 in 150 children in the United States
34%
Autism is a group of disorders with a range of similar features
32%
Autism does not lead to the early death of those afflicted 31%
The Vaccine Issue
Autism is caused by a preservative once found in childhood vaccines.
19% True38% False43% Don’t know
There is greater danger to the population if children do not get the appropriate vaccines than stopping vaccinations because they may cause autism.
58% Strongly agree of Agree 24% Disagree or strongly disagree 19% Don’t know
What the Public Expects
Strongly Agree or DisagreeEvery state should have an early intervention program for children from birth to age three
84%
Finding a cure for autism should be national priority
83%
Individuals with autism should be guaranteed free, appropriate public education
82%
The presidential candidates should have a plan for curing autism
58%
Describe Public Attention to Autism
22% Much less attention than autism deserves42% Less attention than autism deserves24% About the right amount of attention 5% More attention than it deserves 2% Much more attention than it deserves 7% No opinion
Highlights of Findings and Conclusions
More than 80% of respondents say every state should have an early intervention program
83% believed that finding a cure for autism should be a national priority
82% of respondents know that treatment benefits people diagnosed with ASDs at all ages
77% believe behavioral therapists are key in treatment
73% believe behavior therapies are the most effective