What is the Problem

There are between 10-25 thousand children in the United States with any type of SMA. There are four different types of SMA. The First is type 1 which affects roughly 1-10,000 births and means that the child contracts it before reaching six months. Type 2 and 3 affect roughly 1-24,000 births. Type 2 is when it takes hold between 6-18 months. Type 3 is when it affects the indivdual after 18 months. Type 1 has a median survival rate of 7 months with a 95 percent mortality rate by 18 months. Type two typically takes longer to die from however it is normally caused by resperatory issues.  This disease is most prominant and fatal in children with most not making it past 18 years. This is why the goal is to provide the best social and life experience possible. There is no specific area where this happens most its all over the country. Typically they are wheelchair or bed bound which makes going out and socializing harder. Typically SMA affects males more than it does females because of the gene it is on.