Autism numbers among school children in Queensland have hit an all-time high. The incidence of the problem is higher among the farming and mining communities.

Almost 10,000 government school students, which amounts to about 2% of the total state school students, were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. According to Education Queensland, the figures are the highest ever, in regards to autism spectrum disorder in state schools.

The official figures of autism spectrum disorder rates vary from 1 in 64 to 1 in 160 kids. The figure of 1 in 160 is the most commonly acknowledged figure in Australia. The rate is about 1 in 50 in state schools.

The print edition of the Courier-Mail has, for the first time, provided the exact number of students from state schools to be detected with ASD, in terms of every postcode.

According to the figures, which were revealed on the website of Education Queensland, the number of ASD diagnosis dating from January 1, 2007, to December 4, 2009, confirmed that areas of Toowoomba, Maryborough and Bundaberg have the highest incidence rate.

In addition to these regions, high ASD rates emerged in the southern outskirts of Brisbane as well. The same was seen in some areas around the Darling Downs.