By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Every 11 minutes, another family receives the devastating news that their child has an autism spectrum disorder and we have learned that if you have a child who you think is developing autistic patterns, you need to get your child in for treatment as soon as possible.

Whether it’s really autism or not is not as important as trying to get to it early. In other words, if you attack it early, you can really make progress and I think that’s crucial.

Autism is a very frustrating thing to deal with because it is a condition where a child may start to develop problems with communication. Those communication issues are things we have to look into quite closely.

Now, many parents who have had autistic children know that something’s wrong early in life. There may be no specific test but they have a sense something’s going on. That sense is usually a tip – a tip that something needs to be done.

KYW Newsradio is proud to support the 10th annual Philadelphia Walk Now for Autism Speaks, to raise awareness and funds for autism advocacy and research, Saturday, September 15th at Citizens Bank Park. You can register in the morning and a stage show starts at 9:30 am. The actual one-mile walk starts at 10:00 am.

For more information click WalkNowForAutismSpeaks.org.