Autism is being diagnosed earlier in young children, especially in boys, according to a major new analysis of medical records published on Tuesday.

Conducted by Epic Research -- the data and analytics arm of the electronic health record software company, Epic Systems -- the analysis also found that many girls still face years-long delays in receiving a diagnosis and an increasing share of women are not diagnosed until adulthood.

This raises concerns about missed opportunities for early support, Dr. Catherine Lord, the George Tarjan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Education in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told ABC News.

"There is evidence that girls are often diagnosed later than boys, and particularly girls with milder symptoms are missed entirely," Lord, who

See Full Page