For readers who may not be familiar with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) this brief guide outlines some of the major points: • The World Health Organization estimates that 1:160 children worldwide are affected by ASD but admit that data collection methods are inconsistent so this figure may be inaccurate. • The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), a US government department, has carried out more detailed data collection over several years and currently estimates that the number of children diagnosed with ASD in the United States is 1:68.