OPEN MINDS The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst Industry Feature A new study of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in California, which since 1987 has increased twelvefold, found that the main diagnosis driver may be parental awareness of the condition and availability of care. The researchers were testing whether prenatal exposure to localized geographic environmental factors led to greater incidence of autism diagnoses. After reviewing more than 2.45 million California birth records from 1996 to 2000 that had geocoding for the mothers’ residences, the researchers matched 9,900 autism cases recorded in the California Department of . . .