Rochester (NH) Times

"Rochester Police are working with a parents' group and Community Partners in Rochester to sponsor an Autism 911 registration. Registration and photos will take place in the Ben Franklin parking lot, 60 Wakefield St., Wednesday, May 15, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The event is intended for residents of Rochester and surrounding areas. Registration is free and forms will be sent to the State 911 call center. If a 911 call comes in at the address, a notification will go to the responding agency that a person with Autism resides at that address. ...

"Why register? The single most important thing that you can do to ensure your child's safety in an emergency is to make sure that first responders arrive already knowing that your child has an autism spectrum disorder (or other disability)."

This little public service notice tells us a lot about what autism is doing to society. Autism is a challenge to first responders. They need to know if they're going to be dealing with an autistic child.
There are enough children like this to make it necessary. And notice that the call is to register CHILDREN with autism. There is no mention of an adult population. It's all the kids with autism that make this a problem.
 
Jacksonville FL News4

"While Jack has shown big improvements, a new study suggests some kids may actually "outgrow" the disorder. Researchers looked at 34 patients with autism who were diagnosed by age five, but now appear to function normally. The study found they no longer meet the criteria for autism. In fact, in tests looking at socialization and communication, the autism patients performed just as well as typical children.

"'Now I can say there's a chance that your kid might outgrow it,' said Dr. Chaouki Khoury, Director of Our Children's House at Baylor in Dallas, Texas.

"Khoury says he's encouraged by the new study, even though the research did not examine why the patients seemed to 'outgrow' the disorder....

"Some believe it's the intensive therapies that cause the dramatic improvements, others think the kids may be on a different part of the autism spectrum that predisposes them to outgrow the condition without therapy....

"Researchers are now analyzing data to see if there is a link between certain types of therapy and optimal outcomes. Based on previous studies, some believe between 10 and 20 percent of children who were diagnosed with autism may achieve optimal outcomes."

More of the mystery of autism.  There's no known cause, cure, prevention, and now, for some unknown reason, kids outgrow autism.  As we hear stories about the new definition of autism, narrowing the diagnosis, I expect we'll hear about how much over-diagnosing there's been.  The reason the numbers were so bad was because kids with minor problems were labeled as autistic.  Add to that the claim that lots of kids will outgrow autism, and we can all relax.   Autism is clearly nothing to worry about.  

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"June 15, he and his nephew are departing on Lance's Brewery Tour, a cross-country trip to tour some of the best breweries in the United States, and he was getting a few practice rounds in April 30 at The Brew Kettle in Strongsville.

"But what really makes the trip something special is that Lance is a self-taught beer historian and expert who only recently admitted that he's autistic."

Stories like this give the public a false view of autism.  Lance is a middle aged adult who is very high functioning and obviously doesn't require the attention that so many affected children do.