Two studies released in honor of World Autism Day on April 2 offered new information about autism and risk factors on the physical and financial levels.

A small study of toddlers finds that about one-quarter of babies born very prematurely had signs of autism on an early screening test.

New research suggests that the average household with children with autism not only spends thousands of dollars toward educational, behavioral and health care expenses each year, but also suffers from a lesser-known cost that hits them up front – a sizeable chunk of missed household income, perhaps as much as $6,200 annually.

On April 2, the Kennedy Krieger Institute will commemorate World Autism Awareness Day and National Autism Awareness Month with the one-year anniversary of the Interactive Autism Network (IAN), the first national autism registry.

It's World Autism Awareness Day - this historic day has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly in New York - WAAD falls on Wednesday 2nd April 2008, it is the first ever international day for autism and we must thank Qatar for proposing it an seeing it through.

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin – a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety. But what relevance this “hyperserotonemia” has for autism has remained a mystery.

Using “virtual peers” -- animated life-sized children that simulate the behaviors and conversation of typically developing children -- Northwestern University researchers are developing interventions designed to prepare children with autism for interactions with real-life children.

The information that a child has been diagnosed with autism often throws parents into an emotional tailspin. A new study from a University of Missouri researcher says most people don't immediately consider the major financial struggles that follow.

The mothers of some autistic children may have made antibodies against their fetuses’ brain tissue during pregnancy that crossed the placenta and caused changes that led to autism, suggests research led by Johns Hopkins Children’s Center investigators and published in the February issue of the Journal of Neuroimmunology.

It seems that Science can sometimes be as blind as Justice-- and mute as well. I refer to the recent study published in the UK by Baird, et al., Measles vaccination and antibody response in autism spectrum disorders.

The American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology has published this study on Autism and Stress out of Rutgers and UMDNJ that exposed mercury to animals and found "neurobehavioral alterations" such as impaired social interaction, cognition and motor behavior. They also found that they improved when given vitamin E, suggesting that oxidative stress is at work in this process.

Autism Campaigners are calling on Her Majesty's Government to take firm and decisive action on World Autism Day, scheduled for 2nd April 2008. World Autism Day was designated by the United Nations in New York on the recommendation of Qatar.