Talk of changes to the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-V criterion for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders has a lot of people fired up recently. In this clip from CNN, Nancy Grace feels making the APA's proposed changes, "...will limit special education and services to children in need." Nancy goes on to question the role of future government funding in these proposed changes and how American children will be affected. She boldly states, "This is wrong!" We know that many of you - the families and professionals who live and/or work with children and young adults currently classified as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder - must have an opinion...how do YOU feel about the proposed changes?

Jacksonville, Florida - A discovery by a board member and a staff accountant at Little Star Learning Center noted large amounts of money had disappeared from the bank account of the non profit group. The accountant was later fired and asked to not speak to anyone about the missing funds by the accused, Laura Sanders. More than $34,000 in cash and checks were used for Laura's personal use.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid a visit to EIOU Centre for Children with Autism at Bray Park recently. The center was awarded his visit after winning a charity auction. Mr. Rudd was able to meet with staff and children of the center and also gave his thoughts regarding autism to reporters covering his visit.

Illinois may soon cut funding that will negatively impact the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Southern Illinois University. Current and former students, along with program coordinators, will be personally speaking with Governor Quinn during a campus visit. The center provides services for many families throughout the area as well as trains future generations of therapists.

The University of Central Florida's CARD Center assists thousands of families affected by autism. In 1998 the center assisted 230 families, and assisted the families with finding speech and behavioral therapists. Now there are roughly 4,700 families that rely on the center for assistance. Unfortunately the Florida Legislature cut the budget this by 10%.

Autism services may see cutbacks in 2010 if the Governor's plan to trim the budget goes as planned. Proposed cuts in the local aid sector will trickle down to health and human services, those that provide aide to families with autism.

A great article appears this morning on ABCNews.com. As all of us can relate, the costs around caring for a child with autism are soaring and infinite. Many parents can spend as much as $50,000 a year on therapies and often do so by going deep into debt or liquidating any assets they might have saved for retirement.

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee or IACC as its known to others recently released a plan on March 5th to guide researchers as they search for clues leading to discovering the possible causes of autism spectrum disorder. Made possible thru the Combatting Autism Act of 2006, the committee developed the plan to fill the gaps between what is known about autism today and what we hope to discover.