Connecting research, care and investment to improve access to diagnosis, personalised support and quality of life for autistic people across the lifespan.
Boys are diagnosed three to four times as often as girls, and most autistic people live with at least one other condition. Diagnosis comes at about four years in the US, two years after recommended screening.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition. Communication, sensory experiences and support needs vary between people and can change throughout life. Understanding the individual comes first.
Look beyond a diagnosis to communication preferences, sensory needs, strengths and personal goals.
Bring health, education, family support and community participation into the same conversation.
Connect organisations, research and funding to understand where support is available and where gaps remain.
Explore age, sex and clinical profiles across the available country datasets. Population patterns describe groups; they do not determine an individual’s abilities or support needs.
The Global Burden of Disease study estimates 61.8 million autistic people worldwide and 11.5 million years lived with disability. In the US, identification among 8-year-olds rose almost five-fold between 2000 and 2022, driven largely by wider criteria and better screening.
The CDC has tracked autism among 8-year-olds every two years since 2000. Each report has found a higher share, with the steepest rise after 2016. Similar growth appears in Swedish, UK and Australian records.
From recognising differences to assessment, personalised support and transitions into adulthood, continuity matters. Explore the team’s pathway and reported access gaps.
From the first concern to support at school: the steps a family goes through in the US, and where time is lost.
Late diagnosis, long waits, few treatments and fragmented data hold back care, research and investment.
Screening is recommended at 18 and 24 months, yet half of children have no developmental evaluation by age three.
Nearly 295,000 people were waiting for an autism assessment in England in June 2026, up from 213,000 in December 2024.
Two drugs are approved for irritability associated with autism; none treats its core features, and recent Phase 2 and 3 trials missed their goals.
Prevalence, trials, companies and funding are tracked in separate systems with different definitions, making gaps and opportunities hard to see.
Explore the team’s curated map of companies, investors, non-profits and research hubs. Switch categories and inspect countries to understand the visible ecosystem.
Compare the geography of autism prevalence with disclosed investment. Explore differences between the distribution of people and the headquarters of organisations receiving capital.
Explore disclosed relationships between investors and companies. Filter the network by deal type and change the number of companies shown.
Care services, diagnostic tools and a small drug pipeline attract both private equity and venture capital. Vendor reports agree on the size of the treatment and diagnostics markets; care services, the largest part of spending, still has no published market estimate.
The United States hosts about half of all autism trials, and European countries together about a fifth. Since 2019 the field has added around 170 new studies a year, most of them led by universities and hospitals.
AI-based and eye-tracking diagnosis aids now help clinicians diagnose autism earlier, while drug approvals remain limited to irritability.
Research and collaboration should reflect the priorities of autistic people, with a focus on access, participation and quality of life.
Clear referral routes and assessment adapted to individual communication and sensory needs.
Individual goals, communication support and appropriate care for co-occurring health needs.
Better connections between education, employment, adult services and community life.
Further reading: NICE: children and young people · NICE: adults
Our latest analysis of the autism landscape, from a short teaser to the full landscape overview.
Key findings at a glance
Read the teaserThe landscape on a single page
Read the one-pagerCompanies, investors, trials, clinics and trends
Read the reportOne hub for the market and business intelligence of the autism field: companies, investors, clinical trials, clinics and experts, with benchmarking and competitive analysis.
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