I'm not so sure "curing" autism is such a great idea. Some people with autism go on to do great things. Here's a list of a few examples: http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html

Anyways, just my two bits. I wish I knew more about this disease

Autism has not become ten times more common in the last decade as the reporter states. We have diagnosed it ten times more - that is, we now regard things as autism that we didn't previously. As he actually states, autism is now very complex and broadly defined.

Same thing with the occurance of cancer increasing in all the statistics. We have just found more cancer.

>> ^Fusionaut:
I'm not so sure "curing" autism is such a great idea. Some people with autism go on to do great things.

The autistic spectrum is quite varied. Some people with with Aspergers or mild autism can be very functional. Some autistic savants can even have incredible abilities, but those cases are exceedingly rare.

Most people with autism suffer from developmental delays and mental retardation, and it is quite a devastating disease for families. I remember seeing this one little girl with severe autism who had a broken jaw because she would hit herself in the face ~30 000 times a day (they actually counted).