Friday, March 12, 2010

Autism Through The Lifespan #9- Life After Autism

This week during Morning Edition and All Things Considered we've been examining Autism's impact through the lifespan. Experts say the best autism research is conducted after someone dies. That requires donating the brain. In 2003, Laura Walsh's son Jason died in 2003 from complications associated with the flu. He had been diagnosed with PDD-NOS, a form of autism. When he died his family donated his brain to the Autism Tissue Program. Since the program's inception in 1998, over a hundred brains have been donated. Listen to the story here.


To hear all of the stories in the series click here.

If you are interested in learning more about autism visit these websites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/ncBddd/autism
Autism Speaks www.autismspeaks.org
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare www.dpw.state.pa.us
National Institutes of Health www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism
Pennsylvania Department of Education www.portal.state.pa.us

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