Up to 50,000 people in Ireland may have autism

More than 45,000 people in Ireland have a form of autism and the figure may be as high as 50,000, a study shows.

Research conducted by Dublin City University puts the incidence of autism in Ireland at 1% of the population at least, similar to rates in the UK and US.

Researchers from the university’s School of Nursing and Human Sciences have completed a study, entitled Autism Counts, which sheds new light on the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Ireland.