AKRON, Ohio – Akron Children’s Hospital on Tuesday officially opened its new Tom and Jill Zidian Family Autism Center .

The 11,020-square-foot center is located at 130 W. Exchange St., on the first floor of the hospital’s Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute. The $3.89 million center was made possible thanks to a $2 million gift from the Zidian family of Youngstown, Ohio. The Zidians were inspired to create the center following their own child’s autism diagnosis, according to the hospital.

In the U.S., approximately 1 in 31 children ages 8 and older have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network . Though the incidence of autism is increasing, healthcare organi

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