What parents of a child newly diagnosed with autism should know

Dr. Cooley is Medical Director at Crotched Mountain, a charitable organization serving individuals with disabilities and their families since 1953. Dr. Cooley is a developmental pediatrician and also serves as an associate professor of pediatrics at the Dartmouth Medical School.

Today we’re discussing autism, a condition that appears to be on the rise and is a subject of increasing concern to parents and families. In our discussion, the term "autism" includes the entire autism spectrum including classic autism, pervasive developmental disorder--or PDD--and Asperger disorder.

Reliable information on autism may be found at: www.firstsigns.org, autismspeaks.org, www.autism-society-nh.org and www.autism-society.org.