The month of April is Autism Awareness month, and April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. The theme for calendar year 2025 is “Celebrate Differences.” This month information will be shared in the marketplace to celebrate the differences in Autistic people to foster a greater sense of inclusivity. Buildings will be lit up in blue to symbolize solidarity and help continue to raise awareness of Autism.
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. We know from studies that there is not one specific type of autism, but many. On average, autism is diagnosed around the age of 5 in the United States, with signs typically appearing closer to age 2-3.
Over the past twenty-five years, since calendar year 2000, we have seen the rate of children being diagnosed increase from one in 150 children to in 2023 diagnoses at the rate of one in 36. Given many schools have class sizes larger than 36 students, it is not unreasonable to assume that in those larger classes, it is likely that one child will be on the spectrum.
It has been well publicized that boys are diagnosed at a faster rate than girls, with current statistics citing a ratio difference of 4 to 1 for boys diagnosed versus girls. Last year, over 37,000 children in the State of Illinois were in both public and private therapeutic schools dealing with the Developmental Disability Neurodevelopmental condition called Autism.
Little Friends operates Krejci Academy, a private therapeutic day school which serves approximately 140 children. For those enrolled in Krejci Academy, more than 85% of the children in our school have a diagnosis of Autism and typically one other challenge that includes things like ADHD, anxiety and depression, gastrointestinal disorders as well as seizures and sleep disorders.
In Illinois in 2024, there were 306,000 children who required special education services. This represented a 3% gain from the previous year. While most of the children receive special services in public school settings, for those children whose needs are more significant, access to private therapeutic day schools is available and necessary.
There are just over 180 private therapeutic day schools in the State that provide services like what Little Friends/Krejci Academy does. There are approximately 8,600 children receiving services in private therapeutic day schools in Illinois. More than 400 children receive services from schools out of state primarily due to a lack of capacity. Demand for services helping children on the Autism Spectrum continues to grow, as we receive on average 30-40 referrals per month requesting placement based upon need.
All the data above indicates the growing need for support and services helping individuals and families challenged by Autism. Being aware and developing a better understanding of the challenges individuals and families face is what we hope comes from this special month. Thanks for any time you make to learn more.
