Autism diagnoses rise 23 percent in two years

In early 2012, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued findings from a study that 1 in 88 children is now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by the age of eight. This is a 23 percent increase in ASD diagnoses in just two years. What troubles doctors is that the rate has risen far above the 2006 estimate at one in 110.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that ASD includes a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.