My beautiful grand-niece Hailey went from funny, interactive and "normal" to completely withdrawn and mute over about one year's time. She is autistic. I am seeing huge numbers of children in the same condition. Their parents aren't fighting for the diagnosis. These children do not interact without constant one on one attention, training and special tools.

I did not see any children like these before about 1980. Had they existed - keep in mind I was at the age when all my friends were having babies - I would have known of them.

I do not agree that the increase is due simply to more diagnoses of the condition. Something is going on. Something that is so obvious and simple that when it is "discovered" we will shake our heads and wonder how we could have missed it.

Meantime, we have thousands of children growing up autistic who will have to be integrated into the population and enabled to live productive, happy lives.