About 1 in 45 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder, according to a new government estimate of the condition's prevalence in 2014. 
 
 This new report is based on data collected during the yearly National Health Interview Survey, from interviews of parents about their children, and is the first report of the prevalence of autism in the U.S. to include data from the years 2011 to 2014, according to the researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
 
 Although the new estimate looks like a significant increase from the CDC's previous estimate — which put the autism spectrum disorder rate at 1 in 68 children — the previous estimate was made using data from a different CDC survey, called the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which gathers information from children's medical records. This 1-in-68 estimate was reported in 2014, but was based on data collected during 2010. 
 
 None of the interview surveys and monitoring methods that report increasing prevalence rates of autism in the U.S. looked at why these numbers seem to be rising. But one reason could be that awareness of the condition has increased among both parents and health care providers, which has likely led to more children with the condition being identified, said Robert Fitzgerald, an epidemiologist in psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who was not involved in the research. 
 
 For example, in the past, some kids now considered to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have been labeled as having an "intellectual disability," he said. There have also been recent changes in the diagnostic criteria and symptoms used to describe ASD. [Beyond Vaccines: 5 Things That Might Really Cause Autism] 
 
 Another reason is that the stigma of having autism has decreased, Fitzgerald said. Previously, even doctors may not have wanted to give kids the label of "autism," leading children's medical records to reflect an underdiagnosis of actual cases. Now, there has been an increase in services and support for children who have ASD, so this may have resulted in a different mind-set, he said. 
 
 For the new report, nearly 12,000 parents of children ages 3 to 17 from across the U.S. sat down with researchers for face-to-face interviews in 2014, and about 11,000 parents were interviewed each year from 2011 to 2013. 
 
 The rate of autism in 2014 (1 in 45) was higher than the rate researchers found in 2011 to 2013, which was 1 in 80 children with ASD. 
 
 However, in 2014, the researchers changed the way they collected the data, said the lead author of the new report, Benjamin Zablotsky, an epidemiologist in the Division of Health Interview Statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland. 
 
 Therefore, much of what seems like an increase in ASD between 2011 and 2014 was actually a function of the way the interviewers asked the questions, Zablotsky said. 
 
 In 2014, the researchers first asked parents whether a doctor or health professional ever told them that their child had an intellectual disability, also known as mental retardation. The second question was a stand-alone question about ASD: Parents were asked whether a health professional ever told them their child had autism, Asperger's disorder, pervasive developmental disorder or autism spectrum disorder. The final question asked whether a health professional had ever told parents their child had any other developmental delay. 
 
 When interviewers questioned parents in 2011 through 2013, they asked the same first question about intellectual disability, but then their second question asked about other developmental delays. In the third question, parents were asked to look at a list of 10 conditions, including autism/ASD, and to indicate whether a health professional ever told them their child had one of these conditions. 
 
 This approach — of including autism in a checklist instead of asking a specific question about it — might have resulted in the name of the condition sometimes getting lost in the shuffle, Zablotsky said. 
 
 The revised approach was implemented in 2014 to better align with the wording used in other national surveys that estimate the prevalence of autism, and to include the specific terms that parents may have heard health care professionals use when making a diagnosis, Zablotsky said. 
 
 Also, putting the autism question second, before the question about other developmental delays, resulted in the 2014 data showing a higher prevalence rate for ASD, and a lower prevalence rate for other developmental delays. The opposite seemed to occur in 2011 to 2013, when the questions were the other way around — those data showed a higher reported rate of children with developmental delays, and a lower rate of ASD. 
 
 Increased prevalence 
 
 Fitzgerald agreed that what looks like an increase in autism's prevalence in 2014 was probably due to the way the interviewers asked the questions on the survey, rather than a real change in ASD prevalence within the population. 
 
 To see that big of a change in prevalence over a four-year period — from 1 in 80, to 1 in 45 — researchers would also need to be seeing a dramatic change in risk factors for autism in the population, Fitzgerald said. [9 Weird Ways Kids Can Get Hurt] 
 
 How parents understand and interpret the questions they are asked during an interview and how well they can accurately recall their child's diagnosis influence the responses they give and affects the results, Fitzgerald told Live Science. 
 
 The 2014 results were probably a more accurate measurement of the true prevalence of autism because they produced estimates similar to those of other recent survey methods, he said. The 2011-2013 data identified fewer cases of autism because of the way parents were answering the questions, he said. 
 
 The big question is whether the U.S. will continue to see an increase in cases of autism, Fitzgerald said. 
 
 Results from the last 10 years have been finding increases in prevalence rates, and they have not yet shown a leveling off, he said. 
 
 Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. ||||| 
 
 Five-year-old Alexander Prentice, of Burton, Mich., smiles as he searches for items at the bottom of a sand bin at Genesee Health System's new Children's Autism Center in 2014. (AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Jake May ) 
 
 The number of autism cases in the United States appeared to jump dramatically in 2014 according to new estimates released Friday, but researchers said that changes in the format of the questionnaire likely affected the numbers. 
 
 The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Health Statistics shows that the prevalence of autism in children ages 3 to 17 went up about 80 percent from 2011-2013 to 2014. Instead of 1 in 80 (or 1.25 percent) children having autism -- a number that has alarmed public health officials in recent years and strained state and school system resources -- researchers now estimate that the prevalence is now 1 in 45 (or 2.24 percent). 
 
 Lead author Benjamin Zablotsky, an epidemiologist at the NCHS, and his colleagues said that in previous years some parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder likely reported it as a developmental disability instead of or in addition to autism because it was listed first. The new questionnaire flips the two categories, which researchers said made the autism estimates more similar to ones from other sources. 
 
 As might be expected from this change, the prevalence of other developmental disabilities declined significantly from 4.84 percent based on 2011-2013 data to 3.57 percent in 2014. 
 
 [Neighbors file ‘extraordinary, unprecedented’ public nuisance lawsuit against autistic boy’s family] 
 
 The prevalence of intellectual disability did not significantly change and remains at 1.1 percent and the prevalence of any three of the conditions was constant across all surveys. 
 
 The high rates of autism among American children has been the source of much debate in recent years, with some experts attributing it to overdiagnosis and others expressing concern about possible environmental factors affecting children's brain development. 
 
 “It’s not the year to year numbers that concern us. It’s the decade to decade. The fact that we have 1 in 45 children with a very serious neurological condition is a catastrophe by any measure,” said Jill Escher, president of the Autism Society of San Francisco. 
 
 Michael Rosanoff, an epidemiologist who is the director for public health research for Autism Speaks, an advocacy group, said that the new number “is likely a more accurate representation of autism prevalence in the United States" than the 1 in 68 number. 
 
 "This means that 2 percent of children in the U.S. are living with autism," Rosanoff said in a statement."The earlier they have access to care, services and treatment, the more likely they are to progress." 
 
 The study also found that children diagnosed with autism had high rates of co-occurring conditions. Learning disabilities were the most common with 62.6 percent of children with autism also having LDs. Next highest was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD with 42.8 percent of those with autism also having ADHD. 
 
 [Mom: It's time to talk about autism and mental health] 
 
 About 14 percent of those diagnosed need help with personal care, 9.1 percent reported they have trouble hearing and 7.3 percent that they have trouble seeing. 
 
 Nearly 60 percent received special education or early intervention services. 
 
 Below is a look at who is being diagnosed with autism. 
 
 As in previous years, most of the children being diagnosed with autism are male, non-Hispanic white, living in large metropolitan areas, with two parents and with at least one parent with more than a high school education. 
 
 [On Parenting: 5 tips for helping your child learn to be inclusive] 
 
 Many more boys are being diagnosed with autism than girls but the gap is narrowing somewhat. In 2011-2013 81.7 percent of all children diagnosed were male while 18.3 were female. In 2014, it was 75 percent male, 25 percent female. 
 
 Most of the children being diagnosed with autism were identified by their parents as non-Hispanic white. 
 
 More than two-thirds of children being diagnosed lived with two parents. 
 
 Children being diagnosed represented a wide range of incomes. 
 
 Most of the children being diagnosed had at least one parent with more than a high school education -- a phenomenon that experts have said could be due to the fact that they may be more likely to notice issues early on and seek medical help. 
 
 More than half of children diagnosed live in large metropolitan statistical areas that include places like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. 
 
 The children being diagnosed are spread out all over the country. 
 
 Read more: 
 
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 5 theories about why white, middle-aged Americans are dying at such high rates 
 
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 Who still smokes in the United States — in seven simple charts 
 
 Neighbors file ‘extraordinary, unprecedented’ public nuisance lawsuit against autistic boy’s family 
 
 For more health news, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here. ||||| (CNN) On the surface, it looks like the number of children in the United States whose parents say they have autism spectrum disorder has grown significantly. But this latest study from the National Center for Health Statistics begs a bigger question: Are there really more children with autism, or did the way in which the United States collects that information affect the reportable number? 
 
 As of right now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates a growing number of children, one in 68, is believed to have an autism spectrum disorder. That's a 30% increase from estimates in 2012. 
 
 This latest study looks at data collected in 2014. When they gathered that information, the survey that they gave parents took a new approach to asking about autism and changed the order of the questions. With that switch, the number of children believed to be on the spectrum is 2.24% -- that's 1 in 45 children. That's a large increase. 
 
 Study authors wondered whether the changing survey method has had an effect on the numbers; that's because the number of children who parents say have another developmental disorder went down significantly. That number fell from 4.84% in 2001-2013 to 3.57% based on 2014 data. That could mean, the authors say, that parents were selecting autism as opposed to another developmental disorder in part because the question about autism comes before questions about those other disorders. 
 
 Diagnosing autism is hard . There is no blood test or simple swab. A doctor must look at a child's behavior and development over time to make that determination. 
 
 Showing how tricky that diagnosis is an October study from the Center for Health Statistics found that 13% of children who were labeled autistic lost their diagnosis after later tests. Of the parents who were surveyed about the reversed diagnoses, about 74% thought the reversals were because of new information, meaning their child started to show developmentally appropriate social skills or language abilities, as opposed to a child being "cured." 
 
 So what is it? Can we comfortably say that there are more children with autism? 
 
 "We do believe autism is more prevalent, but we have long believed that the 1 in 68 number is an underestimate," said Michael Rosanoff, the director of public health research at Autism Speaks. But he cautions those numbers are based on solid data including education and medical records. 
 
 This latest study relied solely on parent questionnaires and specifically looked at methodology, not numbers. Regardless, he says, "it is time to look beyond the numbers and more important for us to know how many people have access to care and services that can improve their lives."
– A new report reveals what appears to be a notable jump in the number US kids with an autism spectrum disorder, Live Science reports. According to a previous CDC estimate from medical records in 2010, one in 68 children had autism. But a new study states it's closer to one in 45 following interviews with nearly 12,000 parents in 2014. (It's an even bigger jump from a one-in-80 estimate that was based on interviews from 2011 to 2013, though researchers blame that dramatic increase on a change in interview methodology.) Experts believe these new numbers are the most accurate estimate. "We do believe autism is more prevalent, but we have long believed that the one in 68 number is an underestimate," the director of public health research at Autism Speaks says, per CNN. This new estimate is important for two reasons. One, the old estimate of one in 68 already had public health officials worried and resources maxed out, the Washington Post reports. It now falls to the country to figure out how to help an increasing number of kids with autism. Second, it fuels the debate about what's causing the steady increase over the past decade. According to Live Science, some researchers believe the jump is due to the increasing awareness and lessening stigma of autism. The Post reports others are looking to environmental factors as possible causes. Ultimately it may not matter. "The fact that we have one in 45 children with a very serious neurological condition is a catastrophe by any measure,” the president of the Autism Society of San Francisco says.