Facts about Autism:

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.

One in 150 children are currently being diagnosed with Autism. This is up from 1 in 10,000 in 1990. Even more shocking is that this 1 in 150 statistic is based on 8 year olds. Children under the age of 8 are not included in this statistic.
Boys are four times more likely to have autism.
72 children are diagnosed per day in the US. That's 1 child every 20 minutes!
Autism costs the U.S. $90 billion per year.

Acts as deaf
No eye contact
Lack of facial expression and poor body posture
Lack of balance
Resistant to normal teaching methods
Inappropriate laughing and giggling
No fear of real dangers
Apparent insensitivity to pain
Not wanting physical contact, such as cuddling; a loner
Sustained odd play or encompassing preoccupation with one or more restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus.
Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms, such as hand or finger flapping or twisting; or, complex whole body movements
Self-injurious behavior such as head-banging
Lack of symbolic or imaginative play; lack of imitative play
Lack of social interaction; not actively participating in simple social play or games, or preferring solitary activities.
Involving others in activities only as tools or "mechanical aids."
Inappropriate fixations or attachments to objects.
Hand-leading
Spins objects or is fascinated by spinning objects
Echolalic-repeats exactly what is heard, such as repeating a question after it is asked.
Extreme distress for no discernible reason; crying or tantrums.
Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language that is not accompanied by gestures or mime.
Difficulty in expressing needs
Toe-walking
Inability to point at desired objects
Marked physical over-activity or extreme passivity
Uneven physical, verbal, or gross and fine motor skills