For the past three days I have reported on some of the inroads being made in the diagnosis, early intervention, and treatment of autism.  While the word recovery is still controversial there is exciting research from the University of Connecticutt that for some children on the mild to moderate end of the autism spectrum disorder there may be a door for recovery.

The first step is to make an accurate diagnosis.  For many parents that requires the painful realization that something is just not right with social interaction, speech and language and other developmentsl milestones.  Then finding a pediatrician who will make contacts to developmental experts, occupational therapists, and speech and language experts can make a difference.  The looking question is how plastic a child's brain can be?  What can be changed?  What can be learned?

For many parents these reports and the the scientific advances open up huge doors for hope.  There is still so much that we don't know about autism and it's related disorders.  But the more we study children and their families the more we will learn.

This science is no longer a fringe element.  In fact, the National Institutes of Health has just committed $40 million dollars to this field.  It's about time.