[Source:  Associated Press via Yahoo News]

One child out of 88 in the U.S. is believed to have autism or a related disorder, an increase in the rate attributed largely to wider screening.

Advocacy groups seized on the new number as further evidence that autism research and services should get more attention.

“Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States,” said Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks, at a news conference where the new figures were released Thursday.

The previous estimate was 1 in 110. The new figure is from the latest in a series of studies that have steadily raised the government’s autism estimate. This new number means autism is nearly twice as common as officials said it was only five years ago, and likely affects roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens.

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