This is the most worst piece of a bad article: "Rates of autism in California have increased seven-fold since 1990, a recent study found. Because genetics do not change that quickly, scientists suspect that chemical pollutants are probably playing a role. But there have been few studies attempting to pinpoint which chemicals, or combination of chemicals."

How could they not mention that the diagnostic criteria for autism changed over that time period? In addition to it getting slapped on shy kids, it's become a socially acceptable word for what used to be called mental retardation.