by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Parenting

The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is up -- yet again -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
One out of every 59 children was identified as having ASD in 2014, according to the most recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2012, the number was 1 in 68 children, and in 2000 it was 1 out of every 150 kids.
But the CDC said what looks like a rise in ASD cases may actually be the result of improved awareness and identification of the disorder. In particular, black and Hispanic children are getting diagnosed more frequently with ASD than in the past, the report found.
In previous reports, far more white children than children of color were found to be on the autism spectrum. That gap remains, but it's narrowing, according to the most recent figures. Better diagnosis rates means more children in need of services and support for ASD are likely to get help.
To come up with the current number, researchers looked at medical and special education reports for more than 42,000 children aged 8 years old in 11 states. They found that almost 5,500 of these children met the definition for ASD.
As in the past, autism spectrum disorder was found to be four times more common in boys than in girls. ASD rates also varied by state, which could reflect differences in access to health care in those areas, the CDC said.
It's difficult to know whether the number of autism cas...