The National Autistic Society (NAS) has welcomed the publication of the first major study of the prevalence of autism among adults, which was commissioned by the Government in 2008 in direct response to our I Exist campaign.
The research shows that that around 1.1% of the adult population in England has autism. Previous studies among children have shown similar rates, indicating that rather than there having been an increase in the condition among children in recent years, as some have suggested, adults with autism have in fact been long overlooked by services and society at large.
We launched the I Exist campaign in 2008 to highlight the difficulties facing adults with autism. Among other things, the campaign called for a national study into adult prevalence and better data collection at a local level to ensure that the needs of people with autism are better planned for and met.
Today’s publication meets a key demand of that campaign and gives us a clearer understanding of prevalence of autism among adults.
The study was carried out by Professor Terry Brugha and his research team at the University of Leicester. The initial stage of the work was completed in 2007, and put the prevalence of adults with autism at approximately 1 in 100. However, this figure was only based on survey respondents living in private households.
The new research broadened its scope by sourcing responses from registers of people with learning disabilities – people who would have been unlikely to respond the first time around, particularly if they were living in communal care establishments rather than households. Combining the two figures creates a clearer, more accurate picture of how many adults in the country have autism.
Key findings of the report are:
- The overall prevalence of autism was estimated at 1.1 per cent.
- The prevalence of autism was higher in men (2.0 per cent) than women (0.3 per cent).
- In the learning disability study it was found that the prevalence of autism increased with greater severity of learning disability/lower verbal IQ.
- Among adults with learning disabilities living in private households who had a learning disability the prevalence of autism was 35.4%
- Among adults with mild or severe learning disabilities living in communal care establishments, the prevalence of autism was 31.0%
- Sex differences were less marked in adults with learning disabilities compared with the rest of the general population.
Mark Lever, NAS Chief Executive, said:
“This is a major campaign win for the NAS. Contrary to media hype this study shows that autism has been with us for a long time and that a large group of adults have been consistently overlooked by services and society.
“Many people with autism currently face a battle to get appropriate support, with 63% of adults saying they do not have enough to meet their needs. Now that we know how many adults with autism there are in England local authorities should be better able to estimate local need and plan services accordingly.
“The Government cannot afford to ignore the dramatic cost benefits of investing in autism services in the long-term, as identified by the National Audit Office. Not only does the right support at the right time make an enormous difference to the lives of people with autism, it could also save the Government millions, if not billions, each year.”