On today's show, Adrian and Ethan talk about the rise in autism during the past decade.

Autism affects an estimated 1 in 54 children annually, according to 2020 data released by the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. This number represents a 10% increase over 2014, when the estimate was 1 in 59. This was up from up from 1 in 68 children in 2012, and 1 in 88 children in 2008.

According to the CDC, in past years autism prevalence has been much higher among white children compared with black and Hispanic children. In the past, autism rates for white children were about 30 percent higher in white children than in black children. This difference has dropped to just 7 percent.

Generally, autism is seen as a different way of thinking.

Parents and health professionals say the pandemic has disrupted the comfort of routine for people with autism, perhaps especially for school-age children. Stacy Carmichael, a clinical psychologist, says that the lack of social interaction has sent some extraverted children with autism into depression.

Children with autism have great potential. Stacy Carmichael, a clinical psychologist, says that the lack of social interaction has sent some extraverted children with autism into depression. Some of these include Charles Darwin, Emily Dickinson, Michelangelo, Temple Grandin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

We can always count on kids to see the issues and set out to make a difference…

This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection

17-year old high schooler Dasia Taylor submitted a surgical suture that changes colors to warn of possible infections.

This invention, aimed at helping surgery patients in Africa detect infections before they become serious, elevated Dasia into the 40 finalists of the national Regeneron Science Talent Search, considered the country's oldest and most prestigious competition for high school seniors.

Dasia used the juice from nearly three dozen beets to figure out whether surgical wounds are infected or not. She figured out that if she used the vegetable's juice to dye the fabric of suture thread, which is used to hold together surgical wounds, it would change color and alert doctors of infections. She then submitted her research to national science fairs.