Relating to Children on the Spectrum

According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one child in 88 has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That’s a 23-percent increase since the organization’s last report in 2009. That ratio is even higher in New Jersey, which reported one child in 49 diagnosed with an ASD.

In spite of his autism spectrum disorder, Daniel Stefanski wrote 'How to Talk to an Autistic Kid' at the age of 14.

While it may seem like an epidemic is underway, the CDC attributes a lot of this increase to improvements in identifying, diagnosing, and treating children with ASDs. It has absolutely nothing to do with vaccines, according to the Institute of Medicine, and the CDC agrees.
Some experts believe that New Jersey ranks so high simply because its medical and educational personnel are particularly adept at identification and diagnosis—and because parents in New Jersey are more aware of ASDs as well.

Holly Peete Relishes role as Autism Poster Parent

Holly Peete with her husband
Rodney and their children.

DETROIT -- Actress Holly Robinson Peete wants what any mother wants for her kids -- a future in which they're safe and genuinely loved long after she is gone.
Most parents can assume their children will find that, one way or another. For Peete and her 14-year-old son, R.J., who has autism, that's no guarantee.
"As a mom, you worry about protecting your kid," Peete says. "But there are extra added layers of fears when you're talking about a kid with autism or who has some special needs issue. You worry about him being bullied, about being treated unfairly. You worry about him doing the wrong thing in public and it being misconstrued."