Florida Institute of

1. Florida Institute of • Technology • School of Psychology • 2008 Public Opinion Survey on Awareness of Autism

2. 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

3. Demographics • Gender: • 40% Male • 60% Female • Age • 17% Ages 21 – 38 • 37% Ages 39 – 58 • 40% Ages 59 – 78

4. Demographics • Ethnicity: • 69%White • 16% Black, African American • 7% Hispanic • 2% Asian • 1% Native American • 2% Mixed • Educational Attainment: • 47% Less than an Associates Degree • 10% Two-year associate's degree • 25% Four-year bachelor's degree • 19% Masters or beyond

5. Additional Demographics • Regional Representation: • 21% Northeast • 25% Midwest • 35% South • 20% West • Hometown: • 26% Urban • 30% Suburban • 27% Small Town • 17% Rural

6. Additional Demographics • Income: • 14% Under $25,000 • 18% $25,000 - $50,000 • 25% $51,000- $100,000 • 10% $101,000 - $150,000 • 4% Over $150,000 • 29% Refused

7. Which childhood health issues should be the highest national priority? 24% Child abuse and neglect issues 16% Childhood leukemia 13% Juvenile diabetes 12% 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

8. Prioritizing Childhood Health Issues

9. When you think about childhood health issues, where would you rank autism as a major health concern? 26% Among the top three childhood health issues 60% In the top ten childhood health issues 8% A less important childhood health issue 6% Can't rank

10. How familiar are respondents with autism spectrum disorders or ASD? 9% Very familiar 17% Familiar 42% Somewhat familiar 32% Not familiar

11. Know Someone with Autism 39% of the respondents said they knew someone with autism 46% were very familiar or familiar with this autistic person

12. Most Obvious Behavior

13. At the time of the birth of your child or children, how well informed were you about autism? Do you feel better informed now?

14. 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

15. How Public Gets Info on Autism 37% Television News Stories (national/ local) 34% Newspaper and Magazines 23% Internet 10% Word of mouth 9% Parent or family of autistic individual 3% Professional Publications 2% Physician

16. Level of Confidence in Medical Community

17. What the Public Knows to be True & Factual

18. What the Public Knows to be True & Factual

19. Assessment and Treatment of AutismStrongly Agree or Agree

20. What the Public Does Not Know

21. The Vaccine Issue Autism is caused by a preservative once found in childhood vaccines. • 19% True • 38% False • 43% 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

22. What the Public ExpectsStrongly Agree or Disagree

23. Describe Public Attention to Autism 22% Much less attention than autism deserves 42% Less attention than autism deserves 24% About the right amount of attention 5% More attention than it deserves 2% Much more attention than it deserves 7% No opinion

24. 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