As many as 1 in 68 U.S. kids may have autism: CDC

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - As many as one in 68 U.S. children may have autism, U.S. health officials said on Thursday, a sharp increase over an estimate of 1 in 88 children just two years ago that raises questions about why the number has risen so dramatically. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in their report that the data, gleaned from a study of children in 11 communities, could not be generalized to the national population. But the study found that almost half of children identified as having autism also had average or above-average IQ levels, compared with just a third of children a decade ago. That suggests doctors may be getting better at identifying higher-functioning children with autism, or it could be that there is a growing number of children with autism, Coleen Boyle, director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a conference call.



via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://ift.tt/1g4pAsb