Figure 7. Growth in ASD-related Publications, 1980 to 2010.

Line graph. The y-axis of the line graph is labeled Number of ASD publications. The x-axis displays the year of publication from 1980 to 2010. Two lines are graphed. The first line is the actual number of ASD related publications since 1980. In 1980 there were 202 ASD related publications and that number increased each year, with 2,548 publications in 2010. The second line displays the number of publications from related journal subject categories normalized to the number of autism publications in 1980, which illustrates the expected number of ASD publications if the autism research field had grown at the same rate as the broader journal subject categories.  In 1980, the normalized number of publications was 202, increasing each year to a total of 625 in 2010. The number of actual ASD publications rose much more sharply than the expected number, and this accelerated increase began around the year 2000.  Listed below the graph are some key events. Between the years 1999 to 2001, the listed events are: NIH Budget Doubling in 1999, the Children’s Health Act in 2000, and the formation of the international society for autism research and its inaugural meeting in 2001. Between the years 2005 to 2007, the listed events are: the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative was launched in 2005, Autism Speaks was founded in 2005, Autism Speaks merged with the National Alliance for Autism Research in 2006, and Autism Speaks merged with Cure Autism Now in 2007.