>> YEAH. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, LARA. >>> TURNING TO CONCERNING FINDINGS ABOUT AUTISM. A NEW STUDY FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS FOUND THE RATES OF DIAGNOSED AUTISM IN CHILDREN HAS TRIPLED OVER THE PAST 16 YEARS. OUR CHIEF MEDICAL ASSOCIATE DR. JENNIFER ASHTON JOINS US NOW TO BREAK DOWN THE FINDINGS. GOOD MORNING TO YOU, JEN. EXPLAIN THE RESEARCH HERE. >> WELL, LINSEY, YOU MENTIONED THE WHAT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE WHO AND THE WHY, THIS WAS A STUDY LOOKING AT ABOUT 450 50 D 4500 8-YEAR-OLDS AND FOUND THOSE WITH DISORDER TRIPLED. THE THEORIES TO WHY THIS HAPPENED, A NUMBER OF THINGS, GREATER AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THIS DISORDER, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE IMPROVED DIAGNOSTIC METHODS NOW. THERE IS A MUCH BROADER DEFINITION OF THIS DISORDER, SO POTENTIALLY MORE CHILDREN WOULD BE INCLUDED AND THEN REPORTING HAS INCREASED. ALL OF THOSE ACTUALLY A GOOD THING BECAUSE YOU CAN'T ADDRESS ANYTHING IN MEDICINE OR PUBLIC HEALTH UNTIL YOU CAN DEFINE IT. >> PARENTS WILL SEE THESE HEADLINES AND, OF COURSE, GET A BIT ALARMED. WHAT WARNING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS SHOULD THEY BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR? >> I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST PEDIATRICIANS ARE ALL OVER THIS AND SO PARENTS WITH CONCERNS SHOULD TALK TO THEIR CHILD'S PEDIATRICIAN. BUT IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, DELAYED LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INT INTERACTIONS, ANY CHILD OR TODDLER EXHIBITING REPETITIVE BEHAVIORS OR SHOWING A LIMITED INTEREST IN ACTIVITIES OR SENSORY ISSUES, A SENSITIVITY TO NOISE OR SOUNDS, YOU WANT TO TALK TO YOUR CHILD'S PEDIATRICIAN ABOUT THIS BECAUSE EARLY INTERVENTION MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE ACCORDING TO THE CDC. ONE IN 44 CHILDREN HAVE A DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. REMEMBER, THOSE CHILDREN GROW UP TO BE TEENS AND ADULTS SO THE MORE WE CAN HELP THEM THE EARLIER, THE BETTER THEIR