By Jennifer Pifer-Bixler
CNN Medical Senior Producer

Monday was a fiasco. Let me tell you what happened.

I decided to check in on my buddy Justin Kinninger. Justin is in the second grade. He is a kid after my own heart: We share a love of root beer and barbecue potato chips. Justin also has autism. I've known Justin and his family for a year. We worked together on a story about the challenges of getting medical and educational services for children with autism. From time to time, I check in with Justin's mom, Shannon, to see how things are going. Since the last time we chatted, a new member joined the Kinninger family. His name is Luke. He has a great smile and loves cold hot dogs. Before I continue, I should probably tell you Luke is a black Lab. He's Justin's autism assistance dog. Luke is one of the growing number of dogs that's been trained to work with people with autism. I hit the jackpot, I thought. A boy and his dog. The perfect story. What could go wrong?

I would soon find out.

Our first stop was Justin's classroom. As a producer, I am always trying to get the best “moments” on camera. Luke was waiting and I assumed Justin would be so excited to see him, that he would go right over. Wrong. Justin was excited to see us. "I missed you guys!" Justin said. Instead of heading over to the dog, Justin made a beeline to our photographer, Jonathan, and gave him a big hug. Moment missed. I wasn't deterred, yet.

We eventually ended up at the Kinningers’ home. I wanted to ask Justin some questions with Luke by his side. But this time, it was Luke who refused to give us our “moment.” He thought the boom mic was a toy, (it's furry) and jumped up to try and catch it. He barked. He refused to sit by Justin. His working harness off, in Luke's mind, he was off the clock. I half expected him to go into the kitchen and make a kibble martini. Luke was ready to party. As chaos ensued, I wondered what in the world I was going to do. This shoot had become a disaster.

But then something unexpected happened. Justin's head started to hurt and he got sick. Who was immediately by his side? Luke. Later, as Justin lay on his bed, Luke snuggled as his best friend stroked his coat, calmed down and recovered. It was in that moment, that it was clear why this boy needed his dog. For Justin, like many people with autism, it can be hard to connect with others. Sometimes Justin gets picked on at school. It breaks Shannon's heart. She's often not sure what to do. But Luke knows. He never judges Justin. He's just present.

I had my moment.

Has autism touched you or the life of someone you know? We'd like to hear about it.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Phil Riley
CNN Senior Writer

Even if you had months of advance notice and could talk to experts and read books, you wouldn't be ready. Each child is a snowflake, unique. There's no blueprint. You fly by the seat of your pants. And you take co-pilots.

Emma and teacher Lynn Tarnow

When I wrote my blog last year about living with Emma, I had no idea how much I would learn and be touched by the postings of people with autism and those who love people with autism. (learn more about autism)  But when I revisit my own writing, I feel fear, solitude and sadness. Life with Emma is much more.

Emma is generally a joyful 12-year-old girl. She loves her family, wanting us together so much she'll continually ask for absent members. Though speech therapy is still a struggle, Emma has made progress on her goals at school. Credit Lynn, her teacher. Emma still has occasional outbursts, but I’m no longer getting calls to bring her home because she's uncontrollable. Besides maintaining a calm classroom, Lynn has expanded Emma’s curriculum beyond school.

Emma’s community-based activities include supervised shopping trips. She gets a list of simple items that her teachers need, along with their money. She goes to a store, makes the purchases, and then returns to school to deliver the items to the teachers along with their change. It’s a blessing to have a creative educator who has experience with special needs kids. But experience is not always necessary.

Kaloni is Emma’s swimming instructor.  He’s worked with a lot of kids, but Emma’s his first one with autism. Like Lynn, he's relaxed, patient and a cheerleader. Add repetition and familiarity, and you've got a winning formula.  Two examples: Monica and Dr. Cathy.  Monica cuts Emma’s hair. It used to be an event full of squirms and tears. Now Emma sits straight in the chair, smock on, no fussing. It used to take two dental technicians and me to hold Emma down so Dr. Cathy could pry open her mouth. Now she jumps up in the chair and opens her mouth wide when asked. A stunning transformation, even if it did take years.

We’re not out of the woods by a long shot. Emma still would rather not speak, which makes it almost impossible to develop social skills. And she'll soon begin menstruation. She won't be able to understand what's happening to her body. The confusion and pain she'll experience has prompted parental debate over using a drug to prevent the cycle. So we'll face challenges for sure.

But as long as we keep going, and have co-pilots along for the ride, we'll get there.

Have you dealt with the challenges of autism?  We'd like to hear your thoughts. 

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By John Dear
Senior Media Producer, CNN Media Operations

It's been a year since my family had the opportunity to share a day in our lives with CNN viewers, on the first World Autism Awareness Day.  Jonas, the second oldest of our three boys, has autism, and we wanted to show the struggles that families go through when living with the disorder on a daily basis.  We were concerned last year that our youngest son, who was 13 months old at the time, might be on the autism spectrum as well. Our worst fears were confirmed five months later when Rasmus got a formal diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Jonas, 3 (left), Magnus, 6, and Rasmus, 2

For one year, we drove Jonas more than four hours a day, five days a week to get applied behavior analysis therapy, which helped him tremendously. This was no longer an option. Last summer, we rented out our house and moved closer to the school that Jonas and now Rasmus attend at Emory University in Atlanta. Moving out of our home was a tough decision, but the advantages of being closer to their school and my work far outweighed any other factors.

We are bombarding our kids with ABA, speech and occupational therapy. We have a lot on our plate and it's a constant struggle to keep up. On top of all that, our oldest son, Magnus, needs just as much attention, which we are mindful of. He has turned out to be his younger brothers’ best teacher, because of their eagerness to impress their big brother.

We are pleased with the results from our early intervention, yet we still have a way to go to get our children mainstreamed. Jonas, who is almost 4 now, is eager to engage and is extremely talkative, although sometimes hard to understand. Rasmus just turned 2 and has benefited tremendously from ABA and speech therapy.

This is without a doubt the hardest thing that my wife and I have ever had to deal with. Not only is the financial reality staggering, the toll that autism has taken on our marriage has been extremely challenging. We've got one nostril above water, but we know in our hearts that we are doing everything we can to give our kids the best chance to live the life they choose.

Has autism touched you somehow? How have you managed the challenges that it can bring? We'd like to know.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Stephanie Smith
CNN Medical Producer

When he, without warning, snatched my arm from my lap and nestled my hand into his, I must admit I was startled. My 10-year-old "captor," Darian Sepulveda lightly squeezed my hand, and would not let go. I turned to him and for the first time that day, found myself really looking at him.

In his eyes, I thought I saw glints of struggle and pain - but also a light, a profound understanding of the disorder that has hijacked his brain and his body. Darian, who is living with autism, has not been able to speak since he was 2 years old and he seldom gives people more than a split second of eye contact.

Just before he grabbed my arm, I had finished interviewing his mother, Ada Sepulveda, about the crippling costs associated with the care and therapies for Darian. From the moment Darian’s autism was diagnosed, when he was 2, the Sepulvedas began to rack up bill after unpaid bill. They have been devastated financially - taking out innumerable loans from family and friends, draining their 401(k) accounts. They've exhausted all of their resources trying to pay for Darian's treatment.

Ada is bitter about the almost daily battle she wages against her health insurance representatives to get Darian's autism-related health problems - including colitis and neurological and speech problems - covered by her health insurance carrier.

She was angry when she said, "Why do they do this with autism? Why is it treated differently than other diseases? It's inhumane. You don't tell a person that has a diabetic child, 'Oh well there's no cure for this.' You give them insulin. You treat them."

I posed the Sepulvedas' and other families’ cases to the Center for Affordable Health Insurance, which represents small businesses and health insurance companies. I asked why, when families are paying tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket for autism therapy and treatment, won't insurance companies foot the bill?

Kevin Wrege, a CAHI spokesperson, says that that services for autistic children are provided by each state: At schools, and through early intervention programs. CAHI's position is that the state should continue to help children with autism through the state system, instead of shuffling the burden of care to private health insurance companies. The result of that burden, he says, is that insurance rates will spiral even further for small businesses and individuals.

He added that diagnosis and medical treatment for autism are covered by most private health insurance plans. But therapies that are not definitively proven to help with autism - like applied behavior analysis, which is popular among parents - are not covered.

The coverage problems, according to families like the Sepulvedas, is not the more experimental treatments, but basic medical care. She says her claims have been repeatedly denied for basic medications that are not related to Darian’s autism and for things like an MRI when he exhibits neurological problems.

I turned to Christina Peck, who has 6-year-old twins on the autism spectrum, and who used to work in the health insurance industry. She says while the financial burden can be devastating to families, there is hope.

Peck helps families to work around the insurance companies coding system. She has advised families to, instead of calling an insurance representative and saying, “My child has autism, and we need occupational therapy,'” to simplify, by saying, “My child has low muscle tone, and we need occupational therapy.'”

Peck tends to get involved with families after they receive numerous insurance claim denials. She is trying, family by family, to decode and demystify the health insurance system so that families can get coverage while awaiting a cure for autism. Over the past two years, she has helped families recover $1.1 million in denied claims.

Still, Ada Sepulveda often feels defeated by the health insurance system. She resents that while attending to the exhausting schedule dealing with Darian's medical needs, she and her family also expend so much energy fighting insurance companies.

When they have time to think about it, Darian's family is tormented by questions. What if they had not had to fight so arduously for insurance coverage? Would he be better? Would he have progressed more?

I wondered the same things after leaving the Sepulvedas’ home. Would that flicker of understanding, of light, that I detected when I looking into Darian’s eyes be more brilliant, would he even be able to form a few words, communicate more if he had received all of the therapies his family believes he needed?

That is a question that may never be answered.

What do you think? Should autism therapies be covered by private health insurance or should states provide care and therapy for children with autism?

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

There is a special court, known colloquially as a vaccine court. It is a place where judges called “special masters,” who are legal experts, not medical doctors, hear claims about vaccine injuries. It’s been around since the late 80s, in part prompted by the scare over the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine possibly causing injuries. If the court finds that an injury was likely caused by a vaccine, it can make a monetary award. For example, a few years ago, there was a case of optic neuritis after the tetanus vaccine. Other awards were given for fibromyalgia after the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccine; transverse myelitis after the HiB (Haemophilus influenzae type B) vaccine; and Guillain-Barre and MS after the hepatitis B vaccine.

Many people started paying attention to the court after the federal government last year awarded damages to the family of Hannah Poling, conceding that Hannah was injured by a vaccine, causing her autism-like symptoms. (Read about Hannah’s case here) According to the Department of Justice, more than 1,500 people have been paid in excess of $1.18 billion since the inception of the program in 1988.

There is no question there is lots of money at play here. For more than 20 years now, the program has been funded by an excise tax of 75 cents on every purchased dose of covered vaccine. And, with today’s decision, some of the big questions about vaccines and autism are being addressed. It is worth noting the standard the court was using allowed for the petitioners (the parents of the children with autism) to demonstrate “biologic plausibility” as opposed to direct cause and effect. Scientifically, biological plausibility is an easier standard to meet. (Read about vaccine court now).

While this can by no means be a complete overview of the hundreds of pages that composed the ruling (read the decisions here), it is safe to say that the court found no biological plausibility of a connection between autism and either the MMR vaccine, or the combination of MMR vaccine and thimerosal-containing vaccines: no awards will be granted in any of these test cases. We spent some time with Michelle Cedillo, one of the children represented in the test cases last year (meet her here). You will no doubt hear a lot more about this in the days to come. Within the world of autism and vaccines, this is a huge deal and a major ruling.

Couple of points: Remember that thimerosal is a mercury-derived preservative that was present in many childhood vaccines that did not contain a live virus (for example, the MMR vaccine never contained thimerosal). Nowadays thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines that are routinely recommended for children six years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. In case you are curious, a preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. And, in the interest of clarity, vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose. (Learn more about vaccines here)

On page 278 of the decision in of the cases, Snyder v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the statements even get a little snide. The special master, Denice K. Vowell, wrote “to conclude that Colten’s condition was the result of his MMR vaccine, an objective observer would have to emulate Lewis Carroll’s White Queen and be able to believe the six impossible (or, at least highly improbable) things before breakfast.” She goes on to say “the families of ASD and the court have waited in vain for adequate evidence to support the autism–MMR hypothesis.”

So, do you feel like you are gazing through the “looking-glass?”

I hope you get a chance to click on the links above and read the rulings. You will find that not all the experts agreed with one another and the evidence is worth reading. After that, I’m eager to hear what you think.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Andrea M. Kane
CNNhealth.com Producer

A small drama is unfolding in Minnesota. Five cases of Haemophilus influenzae type B (known as Hib) disease were documented in 2008 – the most since 1992. But this is more than just five individual tragedies. It’s tragedy times two – because a vaccine exists to prevent Hib disease, and it has been routinely given to children in this country as part of the standard vaccine schedule since 1991.

Hib is a serious bacterial infection that usually occurs in infants and children under 5. It can lead to meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings); pneumonia; infection of the blood, joint, bones and covering of the heart; and severe swelling of the throat. Sometimes, it results in death. Before the vaccine, there were about 20,000 cases of Hib disease each year and Hib was responsible for up to 60 percent of all cases of meningitis (resulting in death 2 to 5 percent of the time, and producing lasting brain damage and deafness 15 to 30 percent of the time).

Part of the problem is that there has been a national shortage of the Hib vaccine since November 2007, and Minnesota has been particularly hard hit. The other part of the problem is that some of the parents did not immunize their children (admittedly, I have no knowledge of their motivation). According to Minnesota officials, three of the five cases - including the one death - occurred in unimmunized children (in the other cases, one child was too young to complete the four-dose series and the other child had an underlying condition).

I am a parent. I have two young girls, now 7 and 9. And, like every parent, I like to believe that I am doing the best I can to protect them. And for me, part of that is to make sure they are vaccinated.

But I’d be lying if I said that, when it came time to immunize them during their toddler years, I didn’t worry that they might  develop autism.

Stories suggesting a link between vaccines and autism are very pervasive  and proponents of the theory are vocal. But even though there is no scientifically sound research to support it, the speculation persists. Despite the emotion inherent in this debate, I am a medical writer who has read many studies finding no connection between autism and vaccines– including a recent one from California showing that the incidence of autism had actually gone up despite the removal of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from most vaccines and an earlier study from Denmark.

Still, in the back of my mind, a little voice whispered, “What if one of my girls is genetically predisposed, and this is the environmental trigger…” Or “What if one of my girls receives one too many vaccines today, and it pushes her immune system over the edge.”

But all I had to do was take a look at my own mother, who has lived with the consequences of polio, a disease she contracted when she was 2 – way before the polio vaccine ever existed - and my resolve was hardened. Growing up, I heard stories (never from her) about how she spent months at a time in a body cast, and how my grandparents were at first heartbroken and then sought to shelter her from life’s daily insults. I know intimately the criss-cross of scars on her legs, the clippity-clop sound of her particular gait, and the swift hand-on-knee movement she makes to manually move her leg in and out of a car. And I can see where her quiet-but-unyielding determination, and her dignity in the face of adversity came from. And her ordeal is not over: she now gets to worry about post-polio syndrome.

I love my mother and I wouldn’t change anything about her but I would do anything - especially vaccinate my kids - to avoid my children having to go through anything like what she experienced and continues to go through. Vaccines were developed to spare our children pain, damage, disfigurement and death. It seems ridiculous not to avail myself of the tools I have been offered to protect them from diseases we know can and will hurt them.

Did you, will you vaccinate your children? Tell us why or why not.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

Last week, I sat down with Dr. Bernadine Healy at CNN's Women's Health Summit in New York City. She is a remarkable person who has been the "first" at many things, including the first woman to head the National Institutes of Health. We talked about many things, including the persistent brain fog patients and their doctors have when it comes to heart disease and women. Everyone should know that heart disease is the biggest killer of women; in fact heart disease kills ten times as many women as breast cancer.

What I wanted to blog about today, though, is her response to a question I asked about autism. She had written a column about the topic in U.S. News and World Report and told me she believes the link between vaccines and autism is "biologically plausible." Of course, that spurred several more questions from me (click here to watch). Healy went on to say that many in the scientific world have been quick to dismiss the concerns of parents and have not conducted the necessary studies of causation to definitively rule out a vaccine/autism link.  Healy's comments have become a lightning rod in the medical community – with an infectious disease expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics calling CNN twice yesterday to express concern parents will misconstrue Healy's comments and stop get their kids vaccinated – and that vaccines save lives.

I have said over and over again that I was going to keep digging into this issue. What is happening here? For the record, I have had both my girls vaccinated on schedule, but I am curious - what do comments like Healy's say to parents and scientists?

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Chief Medical Correspondent 

All day long, you have most likely been hearing and reading about autism on CNN and CNN.com. The numbers, the costs and even the cultural impact. But, what do you really know about it? Have you ever met someone with autism, and would you even know what to look for? These were things I had been thinking about for some time. In our documentary tonight, I will take you on a journey I found remarkable. Straight into the life of someone who has autism.

Amanda Baggs is 27, super-intelligent and witty. She lives on a beautiful lake in Vermont and is very skilled at shooting and editing videos. In fact, it was one of her videos on YouTube that first caught the attention of CNN. If I had met her only through e-mails and the Internet, I'd be telling you a very different story. But I was able to visit her in person. Tonight, you will see what I saw and hear some of my first impressions.

Despite the friendly invitations and our lively e-mail banter, Amanda would not look at me when I walked in the room and during my time with her. She wore sunglasses and sat in a wheelchair.  She could make some noises, but she did not speak. If it were not for a device that synthesizes words as she types on a keyboard, we would not have been able to communicate with her at all.

To be clear, Amanda is not typical of people with autism. At a young age she went to school and was considered gifted.  At age 14 her autism was diagnosed.  The diagnosis came late, though her parents and doctors say in retrospect, the signs were almost always there. She rarely made eye contact; she was sensitive to sound and never socialized well with children.  It was only after a child psychiatrist recognized it, that she got the diagnosis.  During Amanda’s teenage years, doctors, social workers and Social Security services who would provide her benefits analyzed her case and confirmed her diagnosis.

She taught me a lot over the few days we spent with her. She told me that looking into someone's eyes felt threatening, which is why she looked at me through the corner of her eye. Amanda also told me that, like many people with autism, she wanted to interact with the entire world around her. While she could read Homer, she also wanted to rub the papers across her face and smell the ink. If she saw a flag blowing in the wind, she might start to wave her hand like a flag.  She rides in a wheelchair because she has a diagnosed problem with her motor skills. But she also says balancing herself while walking takes up too much energy for her to also type and communicate. To an outside observer, the behaviors would seem eccentric, even bizarre. Because Amanda was able to explain them, they all of a sudden made sense.

In case you were curious, there is no possible way that I was being fooled. I checked what Amanda was writing and saying over and over again. I spent time alone with her, so she could not get any visual cues from other people in the room. It was Amanda, herself, communicating with me through this technology.

It really started me wondering about autism. Amanda is obviously a smart woman who is fully aware of her diagnosis, and quite frankly mocks it. She told me that because she doesn't communicate with conventional spoken word, she is written off, discarded and thought of as mentally retarded. Nothing could be further from the truth. As I sat with her in her apartment, I couldn't help but wonder how many more people like Amanda are out there, hidden, but reachable, if we just tried harder.

I am a neurosurgeon, who has spent a large portion of my life working in the field of brain disease and disorders, and Amanda Baggs opened my eyes about the world of autism.

Programming Note: Watch "Finding Amanda" an Anderson Cooper 360 special report with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, at 11 p.m. ET.

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation. 

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Chief Medical Correspondent 

Today is the first World Autism Awareness Day as designated by the United Nations.  First off, let me say that at CNN we have been preparing for this day for months, and have covered autism stories for years. Since I have been at CNN, I have been covering autism and I have committed myself to this area of reporting and investigation. If you ask most medical reporters, they will tell you the autism beat is sort of the third rail of journalism. It is so rife with controversy and passionate people on different sides of the issue. If you do stories on this topic, you will get criticized. Period.

Still, perhaps because I am a neurosurgeon, I have been fascinated with the new brain imaging that allows us to peer deep inside the brain of a child or adult with autism and see the changes that may explain the mysterious symptoms. I will continue covering these stories. Maybe it is because I am a relatively new parent of two gorgeous little girls who jumps for joy every time they pass a milestone and grows a little concerned if they seem to be a little behind compared with their friends. Maybe it is because families from all over the world have sent their stories to me about their own family members with autism.

I have spent a lot of time as a doctor and a journalist with children that have autism. I have walked into those meetings with an open mind devoid of any preconceived notions about what type of person I was likely to meet and what may have caused his or her autism in the first place. As an individual, I find myself less dogmatic and more willing to listen to all sides. I have taken the time to read in detail the 16 best epidemiological studies that exist, as well as the more limited toxicity studies. I have researched studies from as far away as Portugal looking at the incidence of mitochondrial disease and its possible association with autism. I am a better journalist because of it and a better doctor as well.

 Truth of the matter, autism is a spectrum. It is hard to say for sure that someone has "serious" autism or "mild" autism. And, I hate those scales anyway. Truth is, I am not sure my daughter smiled socially at 3 months or she was just happy that I fed her. I am also not sure that her first word came right on schedule. I thought she said "daddy," my wife said it was "cat." We don't even have a cat. Every parent has likely thought about these same things at one point or another.

 As a journalist, especially one with my medical background, I feel responsible to keep the attention focused on this topic. I am delighted that CNN is presenting a worldwide investigation today. Besides the medical aspects, we will discuss the financial, the emotional (did you know the divorce rate has been estimated at 80 percent among parents of children with autism?) and the cultural aspects of autism as you see stories from South Africa, Qatar and many other countries. It is called Autism: Unraveling the Mystery, and I know we won't answer all the questions, but we will make a dogged effort to get at some of the answers - again, with an open mind and with the single purpose of finding the truth.

 We would like your help.

 Post a note here with your thoughts about how CNN should continue the worldwide investigation.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Phil Riley
CNN Senior Writer

My cellphone rings and I know it's bad news.

Only 8 a.m., but the school nurse needs me to take Emma home.

She's biting and scratching herself, and it's taking two adults to restrain her.

I can't ask Emma why she's so upset. She can't tell me.

Emma Riley and her family have been struggling with autism

Emma is 11 years old. She has suffered from autism for a decade. Her family has, too.

It started in the 1990s, still the dark ages for autism.

The pediatrician said not to worry about Emma's development.

The psychologist who diagnosed her said to my wife and me, "Read this book."

It confused and scared us even more.

We've come a long way since then.

So has Emma.

She's more affectionate toward her family, more tolerant of changes in routine.

But challenges continue.

My wife and I've had to fight to get Emma in classrooms where we hoped she would thrive.

It's not always worked out.

Just like social interactions.

Typical kids don't want to hang out with a girl who doesn't share their interests or can't have a conversation.

No going out to a restaurant or church as a family.

Spouses spelling each other is good. Less time together as a couple, not good.

Guilt when you're not there for her brother.

Sleep deprivation.

But what most concerns my wife and me is this: How will Emma get along when she's an adult... or when we are no longer physically able to care for her... or after we're dead?

Recently I took our 14-year-old son, Conor, to a school admissions interview.

Later, he told me they had talked about Emma and he had said, "I've had to help watch out for her."

And Conor was asked how he felt about that.

His answer: "You learn to serve others and not just yourself."

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.