ATLANTA (AP) -- One child out of 88 in the U.S. is believed to have autism or a related disorder, an increase in the rate attributed largely to wider screening.
Advocacy groups seized on the new number as further evidence that autism research and services should get more attention.
"Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States," said Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks, at a news conference where the new figures were released Thursday.
The previous estimate was 1 in 110. The new figure is from the latest in a series of studies that have steadily raised the government's autism estimate. This new number means autism is nearly twice as common as officials said it was only five years ago, and likely affects roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens.
Health officials attribute the increase largely to better recognition of cases, through wider screening and better diagnosis. But the search for the cause of autism is really only beginning, and officials acknowledge that other factors may be helping to drive up the numbers.
"One thing the data tells us with certainty -- there are many children and families who need help," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency that released the estimate.
For decades, the diagnosis was given only to kids with severe language, intellectual and social impairments and unusual, repetitious behaviors. But the definition of the disorder has
Still, Melissa Miller, a St. Petersburg, Fla., mom whose daughter, Chelsea, was diagnosed last year at age 2, said many people misunderstand the disorder.
"I think many people hear 'autism' and think 'Rain Man,"' she said, referring to the 1988 movie featuring Dustin Hoffman as an extremely socially impaired autistic man.
"The autism spectrum is so vast and all of our children are different. Many of them don't rock back and forth or have savant skills. They are sweet, affectionate, intelligent, goofy -- and exhausting -- kids," Miller said.
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Autism reports up, likely from better tests