More kids have autism, better diagnosis may be the reason

The government estimates that autism is becoming more common, but it's only a small increase. Some experts think it can be largely explained by better diagnosing of minority children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that about 1 in 59 U.S. children had autism in 2014. That's up from 1 in 68 children in both 2010 and 2012.

The CDC studied 8-year-old children in 11 states. The study is considered the CDC's best estimate of how common autism is.

White children are diagnosed with autism more often than black or Hispanic children, but the gap closed dramatically.