New findings from researchers at Rutgers University are offering surprising inside on autism diagnoses in New Jersey after combing through data on 16 year olds in specific areas of the state.

Experts discovered about a quarter of teens with autism go undiagnosed and as a result are missing out on critical resources.

Senior correspondent Joanna Girgis reports.

It wasn't until she started to get progressively older that autism really presented itself.

San Diego Piccolo's daughter Maddie is 15.

She's had developmental delays since birth.

But it wasn't until Maddie was ten years old that she was finally diagnosed with autism.

I think she kind of fell off the radar a little bit.

She's very social.

It's really her strength.

She understands language.

She knows how to connect with people.

It's really kind of her superpower.

And so I think for the longest time, she was able to navigate in our world without a diagnosis.

A new study just released by Rutgers University shows that Maddie isn't alone.

We found that one out of four individuals had no autism diagnosis through age 16.

This means that one out of four individuals with autism may not have been getting the full complement or repertoire of interventions and strategies that are appropriate for individuals with autism.

They looked at health and education records of all 16 year olds across four counties to see who would have autism based on the information in each child's records.

Zahir Rodney found the results alarming.

Even in this day and age of greater awareness and greater knowledge about autism.

There's still a very significant proportion of individuals who are not known under that diagnosis.

Autism.

New Jersey's Suzanne Buchanan says one major hurdle facing families is the time it takes to get a diagnosis.

Sometimes up to a year, even to.

That wait is unconscionable.

Her organization is looking for ways to include pediatricians in the diagnostic process to help speed it up and help more children access early interventions.

Sometimes parents are told that they need to be referred to a specialist and that the specialist is required to make their child's diagnosis.

But if the pediatrician feels comfortable, if they have specialized training, many times the pediatrician themselves can offer that diagnosis.

That's how Maddy received her diagnosis.

After meeting with countless specialists.

In fact, it was a neurodevelopmental pediatrician that and at the time I had even I didn't even have a clue as to what a neurodevelopmental pediatrician was or even did.

And she has been with us, you know, for the past five years and has really been sort of our quarterback.

The fact that Maddy is a girl also likely slowed down her diagnosis.

According to the Rutgers study.

More boys tend to have autism than girls.

It also found children from affluent communities are twice as likely to be diagnosed than those in poor communities.

And white kids are more likely to be diagnosed than Hispanic or black children.

A fact that Georgia Rodney says points to access rather than the actuality of autism in those communities.

It also found a likelihood of concurring diagnoses.

Most frequently ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

But we also find a significant number of children with anxiety disorders or mood disorders.

That holds true for Maddy as well.

She's technically multiply disabled, so she has both developmental and intellectual delays as well as autism, anxiety, ADHD, a whole host of others.

Maddy is receiving the full spectrum of care as she navigates the complicated world of being a teenager and a girl with autism.

In Maplewood, I'm Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.