By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — April is being observed as National Autism Awareness Month, and the contributing editor for a new book on the subject says there are still many misconceptions–even among parents–about the autism spectrum.

A recent report issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chronicled a sharp rise in the number of autism cases in the country. It’s believed to be affecting 1 in 88 children.

Shannon Des Roches Rosa, the senior editor of the Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, says that’s a significant number that’s largely due to wider screening and better diagnostic tools.

But Rosa says there are some parents whose children may have an autistic disorder, and they don’t recognize it.

“If you can have a conversation, or if you can write, then you couldn’t possibly have autism. You couldn’t possibly have needs. And, just to get all of these misunderstandings out into the open and have an open discussion about it, it pretty much blew the top of my head off.”