• Diseases & Conditions

    What does the environment have to do with autism?

    The search for autism’s causes is a daunting task — but researchers are investigating a variety of factors that might play a role. Written by Liza Gross Republished with permission from Ensia.com. If you look just at the numbers, you might think autism rates are spiraling out of control. The rates seemed high enough at 1 in 150 in 2000,…

  • Parenting & Pregnancy

    What are we doing to our children’s brains?

    The numbers are startling. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.8 million more children in the U.S. were diagnosed with developmental disabilities between 2006 and 2008 than a decade earlier. During this time, the prevalence of autism climbed nearly 300 percent, while that of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increased 33 percent. CDC figures also show…