San Francisco Bay Area Autism Society

Autism is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It occurs in approximately 166 out of every one thousand births and is four times more common in boys than in girls. It has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. No known factors in the psychological environment of a child have been shown to cause it. Autism occurs by itself or in association with other disorders which affect the function of the brain such as infections, metabolic disturbances and epilepsy.