Aasa sent you an article from startribune.com

[Guest guest]

This article from StarTribune.com

has been sent to you by Aasa.

*Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.

The full article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.Letters in a batch for Thursday, April 12, 'AUTISM EVERYWHERE'Early ID helpsThank you for the accurate article about autism (front page, April 9). As a teenager with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, it was exciting to see autism written about with a positive spin. Early identification of autism is important -- mine wasn't identified until late elementary school.While I would say it is incurable, autism is something I can live with. In fact, I can't imagine my life without autism, because it's a part of me that I can't live without.KATE THORSON, EAGANShould schools pay?The April 9 story "Autism Everywhere" raises issues that need investigation by state policymakers. First, why is the per pupil cost for special educ!

ation related to treating autism 50 percent greater than for other special education programs? Is this based on need, severity or the political influence of parents of autistic children?Second, if autism is a biological condition and therefore medically related, why is it the school system's responsibility to treat it? Is this the most cost-effective and effective way to respond to this condition? Why should schools have to "cope with the costs" when the health care industry as defined by insurance companies can exclude medical treatment?With the burgeoning costs of special education, we need to closely examine whether the school system should be burdened with the cost of therapy for autism to the detriment of other critical and arguably more appropriate educational services.KRIS NELSON, MINNEAPOLISA mercury link wrote a wonderful article on autism. For one thing, he said autism is tre!

atable but not curable, unlike some features on television tha!

t claim the opposite.I must disagree with the comment that mercury in vaccines is not a factor in autism. Hundreds of studies show that mercury, the compound in thimerosal, causes neurological and immune system damage. Some vaccines have eliminated mercury, but not all. Thimerosal is a preservative that allows drug companies to produce vaccines in mass quantities and put them on the shelves.I have a beautiful 10-year-old autistic grandson. My daughter and son-in-law are my heroes -- they are so dedicated to his development. With autism, unlike many special needs, they could not buy a manual; they have to search and fight and grapple for every bit of knowledge.ALICE BAKER, EAGANWORLD PRESS INSTITUTEA window has closedI am very disappointed to learn about the elimination of Macalester College's World Press Institute (Star Tribune, April 10).For years, these international journalists made ti!

me to speak with my students at Southwest High School. The discussions that ensued about their cultures, societies, politics and personal lives were invaluable in helping these kids develop a global perspective. Conversely, the journalists were enthralled when our students regaled them with descriptions of what it's like to be students and teenagers in America.The WPI will be missed. It's a shame that funding was not continued.RICHARD SCHWARTZ, MINNEAPOLISNEW BASEBALL STADIUMWhy Hennepin?I am appalled by the lack of foresight of the professional sports groups, better known as the Minneapolis Sports Mafia. Our baseball team is called the Minnesota Twins, not the Minneapolis Twins or the 94 beltway Twins.This state, as well as the team itself, could have saved millions of dollars and helped the outstate economy by placing this new stadium in a place like Benton County. The land would !

have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, not multimillions.!

Constru

ction cost would have been far lower. The Northstar rail line would go to St. Cloud, and a regional airport would handle air traffic.Instead, we have lawsuits, unwilling sellers, DOT issues and now railroad problems. All the time the construction cost goes up. The team is responsible for cost overruns, which means the higher the cost of construction, the lower the talent for the future.I have heard many legislators lament that Minnesota is not one state but possibly four or five with the recent influx of immigrants. The truth is there are only two Minnesotas: the seven-county metro area and the rest of us. Though I do not believe the Legislature should be in the business of wealth redistribution, I do believe it should have served the whole state and not just Hennepin County.MARK HAYES, BUFFALOTHE U.S. IN IRAQWe're not wantedOn the fourth anniversary of the Liberation of Baghdad we find: an!

ti-American demonstrators in the tens of thousands; pro-American demonstrators, zero.Someone tell me why we should spill even one more drop of American blood in Iraq?DIANE W. CARR, NEW HOPEWHAT'S WITH THE WEATHER?Nothing warm about itDon't talk to me about global warming, unless global warming is responsible for: freezing citrus crops in California and Florida and peach crops in Missouri; the coldest Easter in 57 years in Minnesota; Charlotte, N.C., breaking its 1923 record for the coldest April day; March being the coldest since 1950 in Massachusetts; the Twins game canceled last Friday in Chicago because it was too cold, Cleveland's games being snowed out, and this week's snow in Minnesota. Am I missing something?JORDAN KIEMELE, ROCHESTERClimate's another storySome folks can't understand how science can predict global warming and yet cannot p!

redict tomorrow's weather accurately. I can't understand how h!

uge numb

ers of people got through high school and even college without learning the difference between climate and weather.Try this: Consult a dictionary or an encyclopedia, go to the library and find a book, or go on Google and type in "difference between climate and weather" and learn all about it for yourselves. RUTH CORDES, APPLE VALLEY