Autism Epidemic/Flu Pandemic?

In a study released this week by the Department of Developmental Services, the number of children  with autism served by the California Regional Centers from 1987 to 2007 increased from 2,701 to 34,656, a 1200% increase. The state's general population increased by only 27 % during that same time span. Not all children with autism are being served by the Regional Centers, so these numbers are understated.

Compare the recent response of the CDC and local public health agencies to the swine flu and the possibility of a worldwide pandemic to the complacency of the autism epidemic news. Because autism in individuals unfolds relatively slowly over the first year of life, for some reason, there does not seem to be same urgency or sense of emergency that we get from the possibility of a flu pandemic.  But why is that? Is it because autism is a chronic condition? 

According to the Autism Society of America, autism costs are about $90 billion each year. Shouldn't this be as compelling as any flu epidemic, effecting so many fewer people?