Hopefully a lot of good will come out of people paying more attention nowadays.

First, the definition of autism has changed over the years which is a big reason for the appearance of such a dramatic increase in cases. I think it would be a kindness to tell parents that just because their child is shy, or prefers to play alone, or seems to be late in learning to talk does not automatically mean their child is autistic. Keep in mind that public preschools and all public educational systems receive additional funding for every child they can place in “Special Education” programs.

As far as foods, it is true that many autistic people have difficultly with foods, but at least some part of that is connected to an associated condition of Sensory Defensiveness Disorder, in which the autistic individual is limited to very few foods because the taste, color, odor, etc. MUST be exactly the same each time it is served or they cannot eat.

Environmental factors may be a factor, but having friendships with other parents of autistic adults, I can say with conviction that autism didn’t suddenly appear in our children at age two or three. The nurses in the hospitals as well as grandmothers and other women in our communities were concerned that our infants didn’t want to be held or touched in the same way as other babies. I would would hope that environmental factors to be studied would include prenatal exposures.

While I am pleased to see that the disease of autism is receiving attention, it is very frustrating to have raised a severely autistic child in a time when there were no special programs, classes or assistance of any manner, a time when we were told to take them home and love them, to now see that there is money for autism, but it is all going to programs for young children. There is still nothing available to assist those of us with adult autistic family members. The Federal Assistance Programs have been frightened by the numbers of cases being reported and are making qualification much more difficult for those of us trying to receive benefits for our adult children so that there will be some means to provide them with good care when we die.

This isn’t just about little children. They grow up and remain autistic.