Pa. Autism Census Shows Services Increasing, Especially for Adults November 13, 2014 The number of Pennsylvanians accessing services for autism jumped from 20,000 in 2009 to 55,000 this year, WHYY and Newsworks.org report. The 2014 Autism Census statistics were released this week by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and the Autism Services, Education, Resources and Training Collaborative (ASERT). Assistant professor at Drexel and regional director with ASERT Lindsay Shea says she thinks a greater awareness of autism contributed to the uptick. View Story