Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a complex set of neurological disorders that impair social, communicative and cognitive functions. Ginny’s Gift funds creative and innovative treatment and applied educational programs. Grant preference is given to those methods and approaches most likely to help children and teens in the shortest possible time or which provide the most dramatic results.

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing thanks to better clinical diagnosis techniques
• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing thanks to better clinical diagnosis techniques
  • Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S.
  • Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
  • Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
  • There is no cure for autism

  • Individuals with ASD suffer from cognitive impairments, though many have typical and some above average IQs
  • Symptoms range from mild to severe/debilitating depending where on the spectrum the individual is diagnosed
  • Typical ASD behaviors include stereotyped actions such as:
    • hand flapping, body rocking, insistence on sameness, resistance to change and, in some cases, aggression or self-injury
  • 2014 research for the first time revealed a definitive link between autism and epilepsy
  • Between 30 and 50 percent of people with autism have seizures