HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER AUTISM AT A GLANCE AUTISM AT A GLANCE Autism is an umbrella name for a family of disorders that begin in childhood, last a lifetime and disrupt a person's social and communication skills. Prevalence

• 1 in 110 U.S. children is diagnosed with autism. Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.

• 1 million to 1.5 million Americans have an autism spectrum disorder Diagnosis

• Less than a decade ago, the disease was diagnosed at age 3 or 4. Now it is routinely diagnosed at 2.

• Symptoms range from mild to severe. Many people with autism display rigid routines and repetitive behaviors. Treatment

• There is no single treatment for children with autism. Most respond best to structured behavioral programs. Cost

• Lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism: $3.5 million to $5 million

• Annual U.S. cost: $90 billion Source: Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks AUTISM BEHAVIORS AUTISM BEHAVIORS No single behavior is enough to diagnose autism, researchers say, but here are some signs to watch for at age 14 months: • Lack of gesturing, vocalizing and eye contact to initiate communication. • An inability to pick up cues from watching facial expressions. If a parent is looking at a stuffed toy, a typical child will follow the parent's gaze to the toy. A child with autism often doesn't do that. • Unusual play patterns. A typical child given a toy fork will pretend to eat with it. A child with autism may repeatedly tap it on the table or pick it up and drop it. • Fewer words, gestures and sounds than typically developing children. Source: Kennedy Krieger Institute CHICAGO  One in four U.S. parents believe some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, but even many of those worried about vaccine risks think their children should be vaccinated. Most parents continue to follow the advice of their children's doctors, according to a study based on a survey of 1,552 parents. Extensive research has found no connection between autism and vaccines. PSYCHIATRY: Proposed changes to autism diagnosis may reduce numbers VIDEO: Your Money: Autism laws and insurance U.S. STUDIES: Show autism is more widespread, but why? "Nine out of 10 parents believe that vaccination is a good way to prevent diseases for their children," said lead author Dr. Gary Freed of the University of Michigan. "Luckily their concerns don't outweigh their decision to get vaccines so their children can be protected from life-threatening illnesses." In 2008, unvaccinated school-age children contributed to measles outbreaks in California, Illinois, Washington, Arizona and New York, said Dr. Melinda Wharton of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirteen percent of the 140 who got sick that year were hospitalized. "It's fortunate that everybody recovered," Wharton said, noting that measles can be deadly. "If we don't vaccinate, these diseases will come back." Fear of a vaccine-autism connection stems from a flawed and speculative 1998 study that recently was retracted by a British medical journal. The retraction came after a council that regulates Britain's doctors ruled the study's author acted dishonestly and unethically. The new study is based on a University of Michigan survey of parents a year ago, long before the retraction of the 1998 study. However, much has been written about research that has failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. Mainstream advocacy groups like Autism Speaks strongly encourage parents to vaccinate their children. "Now that it's been shown to be an outright fraud, maybe it will convince more parents that this should not be a concern," said Freed, whose study appears in the April issue of Pediatrics, released Monday. Some doctors are taking a tough stand, asking vaccine-refusing parents to find other doctors and calling such parents "selfish." A statement from a group practice near Philadelphia outlines its doctors' adamant support for government recommended vaccines and their belief that "vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities." "Furthermore, by not vaccinating your child you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of other who do vaccinate their children ... We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable," the statement says, urging those who "absolutely refuse" vaccines to find another physician. "We call it the manifesto," said Dr. Bradley Dyer of All Star Pediatrics in Lionville, Pa. Dozens of doctors have asked to distribute the statement, Dyer said, and only a handful of parents have taken their children elsewhere. "Parents have said, 'Thank you for saying that. We feel much better about it,'" Dyer said. The new study is based on an online survey of parents with children 17 and younger. It used a sample from a randomly selected pool of nationally representative participants. Households were given Internet access if they didn't already have it to make sure families of all incomes were included. Vaccines weren't mentioned in the survey invitation and vaccine questions were among others on unrelated topics. Twenty-five% of the parents said they agreed "some vaccines cause autism in healthy children." Among mothers, 29% agreed with that statement; among fathers, it was 17%. Nearly 12% of the parents said they'd refused a vaccine for their children that a doctor recommended. Of those, 56% said they'd refused the relatively new vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. Others refused vaccines against meningococcal disease (32%), chickenpox (32%) and measles-mumps-rubella (18%). Parents who refused the HPV vaccine, recommended for girls since 2006, cited various reasons. Parents who refused the MMR vaccine, the shot most feared for its spurious autism link, said they'd read or heard about problems with it or felt its risks were too great. The findings will help doctors craft better ways to talk with parents, said Dr. Gary S. Marshall of the University of Louisville School of Medicine and author of a vaccine handbook for doctors. "For our children's sake, we have to think like scientists," said Marshall, who was not involved in the new study. "We need to do a better job presenting the data so parents understand how scientists have reached this conclusion that vaccines don't cause autism." Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more