BINGHAM — The local all-terrain vehicle club is calling on ATV enthusiasts from across New England to get ready for a 110-mile ride to raise money for autism research.

The 12-hour event isn’t until Saturday, Aug. 4, but Moose Alley Riders ATV Club board member Jeff Ireland, of Madison, is starting the push for awareness now.

April is autism awareness month, and recently the Centers for Disease Control published a report that estimated one out of every 88 children has a form of autism.

Using 2008 data, the findings showed an increase of more than 20 percent from a study two years prior. Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication.

Ireland said the club — which serves Bingham, Solon, Caratunk, Concord Township, Embden, Kingsbury Plantation, Mayfield Township, Moscow and Pleasant Ridge Plantation — is aiming to sign up 1,000 riders in the coming months and raise more than $100,000 for the National Foundation for Autism Research, a nonprofit group based in California.

It will work with Maine’s Lisbon Hardcore Riders ATV Club and Ohio’s PWD Off Road club, which accommodates people with disabilities for off-road adventures.

Participants will start in Bingham, ride their ATVs to Moosehead Motorsports in Greenville Junction for a barbecue and then head back to Bingham.

Ireland has ridden the route many times and said it’s not for beginners. The suggested donation to enter will be $15.

“It’s going to be a rain or shine event,” he said. “A long, hard ride for a good cause.”

In addition to riders, Ireland is looking for sponsors and volunteers to help cook, sign up riders and ride behind the crowd to help anyone who might need assistance.

For more information, contact Ireland at business@moosealleyriders.org or 696-9977, ext. 3.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, males have twice as many developmental disorders as females. Specifically they have higher rates of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, autism, learning disabilities, stuttering and stammering.

Autism is more prevalent than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and Down syndrome combined, according to the National Foundation for Autism Research.

Erin Rhoda — 612-2368

erhoda@centralmaine.com