As I'm starting my work today here in my office at the house I'm also clearing the office for some upcoming remodel work. I'm tossing stuff I don't need, happily. Among my old engineering references on one shelf I found a few binders of exercises and data sheets from the days when we were working on trying to bring my son out of "autism" at a very, very young age. He was my first-born, and remains the last man standing to carry on the family name. When he was born, relatives I don't remember meeting (I was a baby) back in Oklahoma cheered his birth...a boy with the family name. In looking at these binders the memories and emotions come back to me about how dark those times were. We clearly had a problem and in trying to solve it we dove head-first into trying to unravel it. We unraveled it and, since we had knowledge and professional tools available, took a very effective path towards heeling my son from what was clearly an injury. We've had great success, but recovery probably won't ever be complete. An entire life affected....as is the case with hundreds of kids I've met since we started this adventure.

These epidemics of "autism", childhood asthma, childhood diabetes...they were preventable and remain so. But, our society is too stupid, too callous and proud and our media too much of a lap dog to have dealt with this correctly back before my son was born. And today we continue down this path. I like to put autism in quotes because it's a mysterious name given to something that is clearly an injury brought on by environmental factors. For the past 15 years I have had the strange experience of living among a population of blowhard morons who speak about autism as though they are the experts, only to watch some of them lose their own kids to autism by following orders from those who stand nothing to lose and everything to gain. It's been one hell of a ride...

Sorry for the dark, seemingly self-indulgent rant. Just thought I'd share with the last group of thinkers I know...