In 1971 California added full syndrome autism to it's list of eligible  conditions that could qualify for admittance into California's eligibility  based developmental services system. During the next 22 years, from  1971-1993, the system grew to serve some 4000 persons with full  syndrome autism.

According to a report just released this week by California's  Department of Developmental Services (DDS), during the most recent 12  month reporting period from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007  California added 4,143 new cases of professionally diagnosed full syndrome  cases of autism to it's system. What took 22 years to accumulate in the  system in raw numbers of persons with autism now takes just 12  months. Twenty years ago in 1987 there were 2,778 persons with  autism in the system, by the end of 2007 there  were 36,952.

During the 4th. Quarter of 2007 alone, there were 1,236 new children  added to the system with full syndrome autism...an all time record number of  new cases for a Quarterly reporting period in the 39 year history of  California's system. It was the recent 3rd. Quarter of 2007 that brought  in, for the first time ever, more then 1,000 new intakes (1,060) in the  history of the system, followed now by another record number (1,236)  of new intakes during the 4th. Quarter of 2007. Autism now accounts for  59% of all new intakes entering the system that also includes children  with mental retardation, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy.

Last year, for the first time ever, California's developmental services  system served more persons with autism then cerebral palsy, and by the  end of the first quarter of 2008, autism will surpass epilepsy as the number  two condition served by California's developmental services system.  Historically, autism, prior to 1980, accounted for just 3% of the total  population and ranked a distant fourth among all  the eligible conditions.

The most telling fact surrounding California's autism epidemic is the age  distribution in the autism population. Whereas with all the other conditions  that are served in the system where between 55- 60% of those populations  are over the age of 22 years old, in the autism population only 15% are  over the age of 22.

 85% of the autism population is under the age of 21, 78% under  the age of 18, and over 1 out of 4 persons with autism in the system is  between 6 and 9 years old. No children under the age of three are included in  the DDS reports.

Due to the strict eligibility requirements to enter California's  developmental services system, the director of DDS estimates that  California's developmental services system serves less then 20% of the autism  and autism spectrum population in California.