New Grandbaby News & Unicorn Flu

Exciting news from the northern branch of the family, younger daughter is expecting another baby! Sunshine will have a little brother or sister just about two years younger. Which, if you aren’t planning to have a lot of kids, is pretty good spacing. Far enough apart to give each a good measure of developmental uniqueness and give Mom a bit of a break, close enough together to allow a strong friendship to develop between them.

#1 grandson is of course going to press once again for his favorite name – Cool Ass Mojo – and once again isn’t likely to prevail. That’s okay, he can name his own child thusly. Grandpa and I are just delighted, hoping this birth will be much easier on our sweet daughter who has proven herself to be an extremely good Mom. Her family is happily well-adjusted and for her good choices we are grateful.

Meanwhile, Grandpa’s intensive work schedule in various regional public school systems kicked into high gear when school started in August, bringing home more than ‘the usual’ season-change cold this year. Some of you may know that the new H1N1 flu is officially rampant here in the Southeast. Some wish to call it swine flu, but it’s also got elements of bird flu and Spanish flu – a regular Chimera. So I just call it the Unicorn Flu, in honor of the worldwide panic it’s engendered since its so-public appearance in Mexico City this past April.

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World Autism Awareness Day

Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day as declared by the United Nations after the UN ambassador from Qatar introduced the resolution last November. On the occasion of the very first Annual World Autism Awareness Day, this is a good time to take a look at some of the issues associated with this increasingly prevalent malady.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits the ability to communicate or develop normal social relationships, and often comes with behavioral problems that can be extreme. There is a range of autistic disorders from fairly mild to completely debilitating, so doctors call this the “Autism spectrum disorders.” It is currently being diagnosed in 1 of every 150 children in the U.S., with four times as many boys suffering the disorder than girls. That diagnosis rate has increased tenfold over the last ten years, and there is some dispute about why the rate is rising so fast.

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