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

Demographics

Gender: 40% Male60% Female

Age 17% Ages 21 – 3837% Ages 39 – 5840% Ages 59 – 78

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4% Withdrawn; unresponsive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