On Friday, YAI Autism Community reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had released the results of a study that found that 1 percent of 8-year-olds in the United States have autism. The study has created quite a stir in the media, as well as in the healthcare and education communities. The policy implications of this study will no doubt be unfolding for years to come. For now, the CDC has released a transcript of a press conference with Dr. Catherine Rice, the lead author of the study. The transcript is unedited and there are definite errors (“springing” instead of “screening”), but it’s an informative and interesting conversation. Best yet, there’s an MP3 version of the talk, so you can hear Dr. Rice speak in her own words.

In its coverage of the study, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Dr. Philip H. Levy, the YAI Network’s CEO and President, on the increased rates in autism. If you don’t subscribe to the WSJ, you can read the article for the next five days or so before access is limited to subscribers only. Dr. Levy brings up an interesting point in the article: In a drastic turn about from autism theories of previous decades (and research into most developmental disabilities), studies suggest a correlation between older fathers and increased rates of autism.

Let us know what you think!