The number of children with autism in the United States continues to rise , according to a new report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The latest data estimate that 1 in 88 American children has some form of autism spectrum disorder . That 's a 78 % increase compared to a decade ago , according to the report . Since 2000 , the CDC has based its autism estimates on surveillance reports from its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network . Every two years , researchers count how many 8-year-olds have autism in about a dozen communities across the nation . ( The number of sites ranges from six to 14 over the years , depending on the available funding in a given year . ) In 2000 and 2002 , the autism estimate was about 1 in 150 children . Two years later 1 in 125 8-year-olds had autism . In 2006 , the number was 1 in 110 , and the newest data -- from 2008 -- suggests 1 in 88 children have autism . Read the CDC report ( PDF ) Boys with autism continue to outnumber girls 5-to-1 , according to the CDC report . It estimates that 1 in 54 boys in the United States have autism . Mark Roithmayr , president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks , says more children are being diagnosed with autism because of `` better diagnosis , broader diagnosis , better awareness , and roughly 50 % of 'We do n't know . ' '' He said the numbers show there is an epidemic of autism in the United States . Early recognition of signs of autism -- a neurodevelopment disorder that leads to impaired language , communication and social skills -- is vital because it can lead to early intervention , says Dr. Gary Goldstein , an autism specialist and president of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore . `` There have been studies -- double-blinded studies -- to show that behavioral early intervention changes the outcome for children , '' Goldstein says . Roy Sanders and Charlie Bailey sensed something was wrong with their son Frankie Sanders when he was 9 months old . `` Our pediatrician at the time who was a friend of ours tried to tell us that we were being too cautious , we were being too anxious , '' Sanders says . Frankie 's pediatrician thought his parents were seeing developmental delays that were n't really there . But Frankie was n't talking , Sanders says . `` He did n't have speech ; he did n't have any communication skills at all . He did n't point . He would flap quite a bit . He would stare at fans ; he would stare at lights ; he would become frantic if he did n't have a Thomas the [ Tank ] Engine because he was obsessed with Thomas the [ Tank ] Engine . '' His parents kept pushing , and Frankie , now a ninth-grade nose guard and defensive guard for the Decatur Bulldogs football team in Decatur , Georgia , was diagnosed with autism when he was 15 months old . iReport : Have a child with autism ? Sign up to participate in a project with CNN . `` Early detection is associated with better outcomes , '' says CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden . `` The earlier kids are detected , the earlier they could get services , and the less impairment they 'll have on their learning and in their lives on a long-term basis is our best understanding . '' The CDC is working with the Academy of American Pediatrics to recommend that children get screened for autism at ages 18 months and 24 months , Frieden says . CDC : What you should know about autism . However , according to the CDC report , most children were diagnosed between ages 4 and 5 , when a child 's brain is already more developed and harder to change . `` Doctors are getting better at diagnosing autism ; communities are getting much better at [ providing ] services to children with autism , and CDC scientists are getting much better at tracking which kids in the communities we 're studying have autism , '' Frieden says . `` How much of that increase is a result of better tracking and how much of it is a result of an actual increase , we still do n't know . We know more about autism today than we have ever known , '' he says , `` but there is still so much we do n't know and wish that we knew . ''
One in 88 U.S. kids thought to be autistic , CDC says ; for boys it 's 1 in 54 . Why ? Better , broader diagnosis , better awareness , and `` 50 % of 'We do n't know , '' expert says . Advocate : There is an epidemic of autism in the United States . Autistic teen Frankie Sanders shows benefits of early detection .