HR professionals are about to have something new keeping them up at night. Our country is experiencing a record increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (often referred to as “ASD”).Today, a staggering 1 in 50 children is diagnosed as having autism. This represents over 6 million Americans. The Center for Disease Control estimates an annual increase of 10 to 17 percent in the number of ASD cases so far in this millennium.