"He'd turn cars over and just play with the wheels and things like that," she said.

The Columbia family learned Andrew had autism when he was 2, after someone from Parents as Teachers noticed. Decker is now supportive of a bill that would provide training to all teachers to detect autism early.

"I think it would help the children with autism so that they know what to look for and how to help them, you know, in their learning environment," Decker said.

Rep. Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, is pushing for House Bill 1296, which would require all teachers to be trained in early detection of autism by 2016.

"Teachers are with children most of the day, and they need to know what to look for so that we can provide the best service to those children," said Lampe, a longtime educator.

The bill would also require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to appoint an autism ombudsman. Also included is a requirement for a commission to create a 10-year strategic plan to address the growing number of people who need autism spectrum disorder services.

A study found 8.2 per 1,000 Missouri children had an autism spectrum disorder in 2004, according to the Missouri Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Project. The number increased to 12.1 per 1,000 children in 2006. More recent data is unavailable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says autism spectrum disorders are higher among boys and affects two out of every 100 boys in Missouri.

Early detection of autism can help these children, said Stephen Kanne of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

"All the research that has come out has consistently pointed to the fact that, the earlier we can get to these kids and give them the proper treatment, the better the chance for them to reach optimal functioning," he said.

Decker said Andrew, now 5, looks like "your normal everyday kid." He behaves well in school so far, but she knows there are challenges for autistic children in the classroom.

"I just think it (autism training) would be a great opportunity for teachers to get more educated on autism itself and to know how to handle a child that would have autism and to know that it requires ... a lot of work to take care of them," she said.

Columbia Public Schools already works with the University of Missouri to provide autism training to teachers. Lampe encourages districts that do so to continue.

She said her bill may not make it to a committee hearing, and funding for her bill is unlikely. However, she said it's important to start talking about an issue early.

"It's kind of a mission for me. I recognize, in this tight budget year, we likely will not have the money to do this, but it's about educating people and bringing them along so that we'll do that when the money is available," she said.