Apr. 12, 2010 There has been a major increase in the incidence
of autism over the last twenty years. While people have
differing opinions as to why this is (environment, vaccines,
mother's age, better diagnostic practice, more awareness etc.)
there are still many children who have autistic traits that are
never diagnosed clinically. Therefore, they do not receive the
support they need through educational or health services. In
recent studies these undiagnosed children have been included in
estimates of how many children have autism spectrum disorder, or
an ASD (which includes both autism and Asperger's syndrome).
Such studies have estimated that one in every hundred children
has an ASD. A study published in a recent issue of the Journal
of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that a large number of
undiagnosed children displayed autistic traits: repetitive
behaviors, impairments in social interaction, and difficulties
with communication. These traits were at levels comparable to
the traits displayed by child