The State of Utah has introduced Senate bill 43 that will mandate insurance coverage for children affected by autism. The bill is expected to meet opposition on the floor as many will argue that it will cause a spike in insurance premiums.

Scientists have recently discovered a secondary molecular mechanism that may also be responsible in some capacity to pass on genetic traits that were previously thought to solely come from DNA. This may provide insight to scientists on the primary causes of human disease and disorders

This is Autism 101 for those that don't know much about the disorder and recently appeared on ABCNews.com. Among the items discussed are the differences between classic autism or Canner's autism, high functioning autism, Aspergers Syndrome.

projectLD is reaching out to South Carolina leadership to offer support and services through AutismSpot.com and SpotUniveristy.com. In 2007, South Carolina's Department of Education counted 2,685 students in the state with autism listed as their leading disorder. That number in 2003 was 1,283 students. Because of this number more than doubling, the state is looking for help to get teachers, administrators, and staff trained to be better equipped at handling and teaching children on the spectrum.

A difference in opinion has led to the resignation of a high ranking executive at Autism Speaks.

Many on the spectrum are visual thinkers, this may be part of the reason that a software created back in 2006 by a Colorado software company may be such a big hit with kids on the spectrum. Sketchup, a software built for design professionals and architects has been an entertaining program for many, as it sharpens already honed visual thinking skills.

As reported on other news articles regarding Oxytocin, the Journal of Neuroscience has published more information on how the hormone may help those on the spectrum with facial recognition. There has been substantial evidence that shows that the central oxytocin system is altered in several mental disorders and can cause social disturbances as seen many times in autism and aspergers syndrome.

An interesting article that give a direct look into the mind of Daniel Tammet. Tammet has been featured many times on the Discovery channel for his amazing abilities to crunch numbers and learn new languages. He holds the European record for reciting the first 22,514 decimal points of the mathematical constant Pi and offers insight that describes how his mind "sees" texture, color, and other characteristics that numbers have.

A video teaching tool released on DVD by the Autism Research Center of Cambridge hopes to bring better understanding of emotion and facial expressions to children on the autism spectrum. A challenge for many children, the DVD breaks down in simple and fun manner, ways for the children to build on knowing emotions like happiness, anger, sadness etc.

In a recent study released yesterday in the American Journal "Neuron", researchers have seen dramatic neurological and behavioral changes when the protein FKBP12 has been removed from lab mice. FKBP12 is a protein that is shared by both mice and humans and plays a key role in the ability to change behavior.