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Home » General » News & Events » Media Kit » Fact Sheet Fact SheetSPEECH, LANGUAGE, HEARING AND AUTISM FACTSGeneral FactsSeveral longitudinal evaluations of early intervention programs all reach essentially the same conclusion: the return on early-childhood development programs that focus on at-risk families far exceeds the return on other projects that are funded as economic development. For early intervention programs there is an estimated annual rate of return, adjusted for inflation, of between 7% and 18%. State and federal education departments spend about $36 billion each year on special education programs for individuals with developmental disabilities who are 3-21 years old. In 2002, the total spending to educate the average student with a disability amounts to $12,639. Unless they receive help, children with communication problems face the risk of long term difficulties with social relationships, education and self-esteem. Communication disorders affect approximately 46 million Americans. Of these, 28 million have hearing loss and 14 million have a speech or language disorder. Communication disorders cost the U.S. between $30 and $154 billion for lost productivity, special education, and medical care annually. 42 million people in the U.S. suffer from a speech, voice, language, or hearing impairment. While the median income of all families in 2000 was $50,046, the median income of families with members with a sensory disability was $38,775. An estimated 15 to 25 percent of young children have some type of communication disorder. More than 12,000 babies are born each year with significant hearing loss, which can affect their speech and language development. Forty percent of adult Americans have trouble reading and writing even simple things. They cannot fill out a job application, read traffic signs, read election ballots, or read the prescription on a medicine bottle. They can not understand a bus schedule, a newspaper article, product labels or read a story to a child. The literature on the prevalence and stability of preschool problems inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity suggests a number of links to early literacy skills and broader school achievement. Speech FactsBetween 28 to 60 percent of children with a speech and language deficit have a sibling and/or parent who is also affected. Approximately one percent of the general population stutters. An estimated five percent of children entering first grade have moderate to severe speech disorders, ranging from substituted and missing sounds to serious impairments that make their speech almost impossible to understand. Approximately 7.5 million people in the U.S. have trouble using their voices. People with severe speech disabilities are more often found to be unemployed or in a lower economic class than people with hearing loss or other disabilities. Eight out of 10 adults who stutter say that stuttering interferes with their performance at work or at school. Nearly four out of 10 report being denied a job or promotion because of their stuttering. 85 percent of adults who had undergone speech therapy had two or more different treatment experiences and 31percent had five or more. Boys are three to four times as likely to experience speech disorders as girls. Illiteracy costs the United States more than $225 billion a year in lost productivity. It is tied to unemployment, crime, poverty, and family problems. More than one million of the students served in the public schools' special education programs in the 2000-2001 school year were categorized as having a speech language impairment. This estimate does not include children who have speech/language problems secondary to other conditions such as deafness. Language disorders may be related to other disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy. It is estimated that communication disorders (including speech, language, and hearing disorders) affect one of every 10 people in the United States. Language FactsA majority of all poor readers have an early history of spoken-language deficits. Speech and language Impairments do affect a child's academic success, especially if left untreated. Forty to seventy-five percent of the children have problems learning to read. About eight percent of American school children have difficulty developing and using language. These difficulties create problems not just with speaking but also with reading and writing. Between six and eight million people in the U.S. have some form of language impairment. In 2001, there was a 30 fold increase in the number of children with speech and language disorders in the past ten years. About one million persons in the U.S. have aphasia (partial or complete impairment of language comprehension and expression caused by brain damage, most often from stroke). It is estimated that approximately 80,000 individuals acquire aphasia each year. Most people have acquired up to 85 percent of their adult capacity for language by the time they are five years old. Research indicates that 17 to 20 percent of children in the U.S. experience substantial difficulties in learning to read, and that more than a third of students in fourth grade read below the basic level. Children who are not fluent readers by fourth grade are likely to continue struggling with reading into adulthood, which makes early identification and intervention of reading problems essential to a child's success in school and society. It is normal for children between the ages of 2 and 5 years to stutter. In most cases, the condition resolves over time, often by age 16. However, some people have stuttering problems that persist or worsen as they get older. Sometimes stuttering remains a lifelong problem. Hearing FactsIn the U.S., 1 out of 12 30-year-olds is already hearing-impaired and 1 in 8 50-year-olds suffer from hearing loss. Only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one. By age 65, one out of three people has a hearing loss. As of 2005, more than 31.5 million Americans found it difficult to hear without a hearing aid, an increase of nearly 10 percent since 2002. For the 24 million Americans with untreated hearing loss, the impact of doing nothing about this problem equates to at least $100 billion in lost income per year. People with hearing loss wait an average of seven years before seeking help and 75 % of people who could benefit from hearing aids are not using them. Average lifetime costs per person are estimated at $417,000 for persons with hearing loss. One in six baby boomers have a hearing problem; one in 14 Generation Xers already have hearing loss; at least 1.4 million kids have hearing problems. Despite the rising incidence of hearing loss, only about 1 out of 4 people with this problem use a hearing instrument. More than one million children with hearing problems are not being treated. Projections on the hearing loss population through the year 2050 indicate that the hearing loss population will increase to almost 53 million and that the figure will surpass 40 million by 2025. Only 17,000 people worldwide had cochlear devices implanted last year. Yet, in the U.S. alone, some 900,000 people are believed to be deaf or near-deaf. Each year, there are about 50,000 to 100,000 people worldwide who become deaf in one ear. 90% of hearing losses can be treated with the use of hearing instruments. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that 22 million Americans may have suffered permanent damage to their hearing as a result of excessive noise exposure and the American Hearing Research Foundation suggests that it is as many as 1 in 10 adults. Autism FactsAutism occurs in all countries and within all socioeconomic classes. There is no firm medical detection, treatment routine, or cure for autism. A new case of autism is diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes. Approximately 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with autism. 40% of all children with autism wait more than three years for a clear diagnosis There are more than 130,000 children with autism ages 6-17 in public school classrooms. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year AIDS, diabetes and cancer than with combined. Autism is the third most common developmental disability following mental retardation and cerebral palsy. Autism is more common than multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, or childhood cancer. Autism is four times more likely to be diagnosed in boys than girls. Autism costs the U.S. over $90 billion per year, which is expected to double in the next decade. The estimated annual cost of autism will increase to $200-400 billion by 2013. Cost of lifelong care of Autism can be reduced by 2/3 with early diagnosis and intervention Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S. While there is no known cure, early and intensive education and behavioral intervention can help children grow and learn new skills that help him or her talk, interact, play, learn, and care for his or her needs. |
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