CNN 2012-04-04

 It's Friday. I'm Carl Azuz. This is CNN student news.

 
Earlier this week, we ask you to discuss your memory method. Remember that? Well, today we are going to share some of what you have to say.
 
First up, though, the governor of Colorado has suspended any controlled burns in the state. That's when a fire is set on purpose to clear away brush. The governor made that decision because of this. It's a wild fire in the area near Denver, started out as a controlled burn, but erupted into something much larger. Firefighters have brought thousands of gallons of chemicals on the fire, trying to get the thing under control. Two people have died because of it. Dozens of houses have been destroyed or damaged. A family shot this video as it escaped from the fire. It might look like the middle of the night. It's actually during the day. The smoke from the fire is what made things so dark. And you can see the differences as the car gets past the flames. The whole family made it out okay.
 
From Colorado we are heading to Afghanistan. Last week, US military convoy 1 was driving through a province in the northeastern part of Afghanistan. Some kids were in the road. So a few of the soldiers got out of their vehicles to move the kids out of the way. Denis W was one of those soldiers. He noticed a vehicle moving toward an Afghan girl who went back to pick something up in the road. W grabbed 2 the girl, got her out of the way, saved her life and sacrificed his. W was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard. The state is honoring him by flying its flag at half staff until his funeral on Monday.
 
Our next stop is the North Sea, which separates the United Kingdom from part of Europe. Nearly 240 workers had to be taken off an oil rig 3 there because of a leak, but not an oil leak. It was a gas leak. Officials say it seems to have started when workers were sealing a well in the North Sea. The danger with the gas leak is that gas catches fire more easily than oil does. Yesterday, experts were considering whether to wait for the gas to stop leaking on its own or whether they should drill a relief well or try to plug up the leak.
 
Just the Facts. Autism refers to a series of developmental disorders 5. These usually appear in children before they are three years old. Children with autism generally struggle with social interaction, language and behavior. There isn't a cure for autism, but treatment has been shown to offer significant help.
 
Doctors haven't identified any one specific thing that causes autism, because it's a series of disorders and because no two children with autism are alike. There're probably many possible causes. According to a new report, doctors do know that the number of children with aurism is increasing. Doctor SG explores how the numbers have changed, why it's significant and what might be some of the reasons for the increase.
 
Frankie S is a ninth grader who loves to play chess on his iPad. And he is trying to pass the test for his drivers' permit. Frankie also has autism. As you may know, that's a neural 6 developmental disorder 4 that affects language, behaviour and social skills. Boys make up the vast majority of cases. What you may not know is that 12 years ago, the centers for disease control and prevention began to estimate the total number of cases in the United States. They based it on account of 8-year-old children with autism in select communities. If you look back in the years 2000 and 2002, it was about 1 child in 150 with autism. Two years later, 1 in 125. Then, 1 in 110. And now the latest report, as in 2008, the last time, an estimate was performed, 1 in 88 children has autism. That's a 78 percent increase just over the last decade. And the question on a lot of people's minds is why.
 
"How much of that increase is a result of better tracking, and how much of it is a result of actual increase? We still don't know."
 
Researchers have discovered many genes 7 linked to autism. But in most cases, genes are only one part of the equation 8. And genes alone wouldn't change that fast in just 10 years. There are something else that triggers 9 the problem.
 
"We are talking about infections. We are talking about social conditions. And we are talking about exposures to toxicants, things in the environment."
 
Researchers are still looking for answers. But what they do know is that diagnosing 10 children early is critical. As was the case with Frankie S.
 
"Frankie was diagnosed 12 when he was 15 months old. He immediately began to get speech therapy and occupational therapy and physical therapy. He was placed in a group with kids who were typically developing."
 
All that hard work is paying off. Frankie is now 15. He attends a regular high school and plays on the football team.
 
"We can diagnose 11 autism at two years of age almost always by 90 percent of the children by three certainly. And we actually can diagnose at 18 months in many children."
 
But according to this new report, most cases are diagnosed late after age 2 or 3. That's when therapies __ shown to help the most, especially with speech and communication.