The number of children diagnosed with autism in the United States is continuing to rise, according to a pair of new reports published this week. An analysis of surveillance data from 11 states, researchers found, shows one in 44 children aged 8 years have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or have received a special education classification of the disorder. A second report published Friday, also using surveillance data, showed one in 59 children aged 4 were diagnosed with autism. Boys were more likely to have autism than girls at both ages, according to the new reports. The data was pulled from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a surveillance system funded by the CDC. One of the goals of the network is to measure progress in early autism identification. Another is to identify changes in autism prevalence over time. Sites studying the children are set up in Arkansas, Arizona, California, …