Data from two new US government studies indicate that about 1 percent of all children between the ages of 3 and 17 have autism or a related disorder. This number is significantly higher than previous estimates and may suggest an increased awareness of these disorders, which are characterized by impaired social and communication skills. Interestingly, nearly 40 percent of the children who had once been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder were no longer considered autistic at the time of the survey. Experts doubt that this many children are recovering - in fact, many believe that autism cannot be cured at all - and instead suggest that improper diagnoses may account for that finding.