My niece is very book smart, she graduated from high school. The problem is if a smoke alarm goes off...she will continue what she is doing even when the room was filling up with smoke... She is 2-3 yrs old in some areas and a 16 yr old in others.

She will never be able to live alone, where she is at now at 30 is probably where she will always be.

Her verbal skills are mostly parroting what others say.

She could hold down a number of jobs, however because she can not feel any pain until it is excruiating, she has been hurt while working and no one noticed the subtle signs, even though they were educated as what to watch for.

She has developed a lot of anger issues and has hurt her aunt and put her in the ER several times. They can't seem to figure out what causes them, and due to this she will be going to a group home. It is so sad, because 95% of the time she is so sweet, funny and loving....

There are several great websites where you can go to learn more about Autism. One is http://www.autismspeaks.org/index.php

Here is some general information from the site:

"Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders."

"Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 70 boys is diagnosed with autism."

A great book I have read on the subject is Healing New Childhood Epidemics by Kenneth Bock. (http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Ch.../dp/0345494504) For anyone who is affected by Autism or just wants to learn more, I would highly recommend checking this out of the library.

With Autism, every story is different. A lot of people are able to find some relief with dietary changes, supplements, and more recently glutathione accelerators. There is even some research that chiropractic care has successfully aided in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

It is quite alarming how quickly Autism is growing, especially among boys. As a society, we really need to take responsibility for our lifestyles and our environment and really find out what is causing this.

On an aside, another interesting (and somewhat related) story was done by CNN called Toxic America. You can see more of that here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/toxic.america/

It is absolutely amazing the things we live with simply due to our own ignorance and misplaced trust that our government and big corporations have our best interests at heart.

A lot of research shows that Autistic kids tend to have bodies that are inundated with toxins. Part of the treatment is finding a way for their bodies to flush out the toxins.

(Off my soap box. But this is just a fascinating subject to me and I have a child who is not Autistic, but....)

Doesn't your state have an Ill and Handicapped Waiver? It is through Medicaid. I believe it is a fed gov program. I could be wrong. I should be more informed!! My DH has a Brain Injury waifer and my DGS who has Autism has teh Ill and Handicapped Waiver. It provides for various programs that help with daily needs and other benefits. You might check into it. We went through our Dept of Human Services. Every State has one.

Doesn't your state have an Ill and Handicapped Waiver? It is through Medicaid. I believe it is a fed gov program. I could be wrong. I should be more informed!! My DH has a Brain Injury waifer and my DGS who has Autism has teh Ill and Handicapped Waiver. It provides for various programs that help with daily needs and other benefits. You might check into it. We went through our Dept of Human Services. Every State has one.

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your caring words. We have researched alot of information that we have received other the years. Alot of help is based on the salary of the parents, because my husband and I both work and our son can hold a job, according to the experts, doesn't make a difference that he can go haywire at the drop of a hat and has not kept a job longer than 6 months at a time, we make to much money for assistance. I am a bus driver and my husband is a mechanic. That's the goverment for ya. Thank you again.