Autism rates are much higher than originally thought but may have stabilized in recent years, a new study suggests.

An estimated 2.41 percent of children in the United States have autism spectrum disorder, according to a new analysis of data from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The most recent previous estimate put autism rates at 1.47 percent in 2010, researchers from the new study said.

“The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is much higher than previously thought,” said senior author Dr. Wei Bao, an epidemiologist with the University of Iowa College of Public Health.

Autism spectrum disorders now affects about 1 of every 41 children, a huge increase in autism from previous decades, Bao said.

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