In a way, this is good news: perhaps we as a culture and more importantly as individuals will begin to connect the dots between increasing rates of cancer, autism, birth problems…and our daily actions—oil, fracking, plastics, toxic household cleaners…

It’s a daily sadness that takes two lives—the caregiver must wrestle with the subject’s autism just as much as the autistic person him or herself. I grew up around an autistic young adult, Taggie, and his nervous, painful condition was a daily sadness for him, and for all those who loved him—particularly since you could see his wonderful intelligence struggling beneath the nervous condition that reduced his ability to communicate or think or function with pleasure, all to next to nothing.

A new study:

1% of the population in developed countries now suffers from autism—”which is marked by extreme social withdrawal, communication problems and repetitive behaviors.”

Now, what seems obvious has been confirmed: “autism rates appear to have increased far faster than our genes can evolve.” Click over to the NY Times for more.