I’ve grown tired of the autism discussions and controversies and find I am repeating myself. Since staff changes at the Star are causing my job to change, I won’t have time to keep this blog going. So while autism won’t be going away, Puzzle Pieces will.

The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may eliminate the terms for Aspergers and PDD-NOS and just call them all autism Spectrum Disorders. Does it matter?

David is really looking forward to Halloween. He loves doling out candy to the younger neighborhood children who come to the door dressed in cute, non-threatening costumes.

We really like our dentist. She has the patience to clean David’s teeth without having him sedated. That’s a big deal.

While on “Big Brother” Adam Jasinski showed he lacks tact and compassion. Now he’s shown he’s not too smart either.

Sometimes you want to say something, but you just aren’t finding the words. You’re not even sure exactly what you’re trying to say. Then someone else says it perfectly.

I was once considered a picky eater, but compared to my family, I’m downright adventurous.

Is the public going to feel an autism-news overload in the near future? It seems as if autism has been a cause célèbre for a few years, now. Sooner or later, people who don’t live with autism on a daily basis may just tune out any autism news they hear the way I tune out news about Paris Hilton, or lately, David Letterman.

People may have wondered why the media didn’t run stories about the studies showing new, higher rates of autism until this week while they read about it online late last week.

The number of children on the autism spectrum is now placed at 1 in 100.