. >>> uc davis researchers releasing study on autism this morning. for the first time, they've data linking a mother's weight with her child's odds for having autism. sergio quintana with the story. >> reporter: adding to public health for two reasons. there are rising levels of obesity in the united states. second, a sharp increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism. researchers looked at more than 1,000 children between 2 and 5 years old and their mothers. they found mothers who were obese or had hyper tension or diabetes were 60% more likely to have autistic children than healthy mothers. findings should not be considered a conclusive explanation of the sharp rise in the number of children being diagnosed with autism. it does add support to concerns doctors have long had about mothers and their weight during pregnancy in a different study last month researchers found the number of children being diagnosed with the disorder has risen to 1 in 88. compared to 1 in 110 a few years ago. part of that is because doctors are more an waeufrt s

why some may be increasing their chances of having a child with autism. >>> unloading sweet cargo in the inner harbor. why this is such a historic day for domino sugars. i'm andrea fujii. >>> don't miss the updated first warning weather forecast with bernadette. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> a polluted inner harbor is becoming cleaner and safer thanks to teams of volunteers. it's an effort to draw not only tourists but fish and crabs to the inner harbor. killebrewer has lived in felts point his entire life. he remembers when the water in the harbor was clean. >> we about lost all the oysters. all the crabs and stuff. you don't see no nice big chesapeake blue crabs. you see smaller ones, but not big ones. >> reporter: now a renewed effort to change that. >> over the last couple of days, working with kids we've been building the basin for the bay harbor. >> these refuge provide living conditions for the fish. >> reporter: waterfront partnership tells me they would like to see us take a swim in the inner harbor by 2020. some aren't so sure. >> definitely there's chemical polluted for years s

. >>> roaring for autism. how you can help support the research for the developmental disorder that now affects one in 80 maryland children. i'm andrea fujii. that's just ahead on wjz eyewitness news. >>> and mercury is a bit lower today. more typical spring weather. meteorologist bernadette woods will update our first warning forecast. ,,,,,, i remember the days before copd. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taki

. >>> pregnancy and autism new reserm out this morning. >>> and remembering a lemd, newsman mike wallace, his hard-hitting style kept people tuned in for decades. >>> and out of the woods. all the way to a masters green jacket. how bubba watson beat the odds to win golf's first major of the year. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero in for paula faris. >> the two men charged in the shooting spree in tulsa may be arraigned this morning. >> it was likeliered by racism and revenge. >> reporter: this city in the heartland turned into a shooting gallery. five people hit, three of them killed, all of them african-american. >> i think they were very upset with black people. >> reporter: relief didn't come until early in the morning, when police say they arrested these two men. they said an anonymous tip helped them stop them. they stopped short of saying the shootings had something to do with skin color. >> it sickens me. it angers me. >> reporter: there may be clues on jacob england's facebook page. he allegedly wrote, two years since my dad is gone, shot by an [

you have a son with autism. he was almost 2 when he was placed into a program at kennedy creeinger. >> yes. he started a program for six months at kennedy krieger. he got one every day for two hours. >> reporter: how did that help? >> tremendously. it helped him learn how to interact with other people, looking at -- they really taught him to look at people's eyes and how to interact with other children to help . they helped him with hits speech. >> reporter: when he first entered he didn't talk at all. >> he didn't talk and was having temper tantrums because he was frustrated and couldn't communicate with us. >> reporter: and now you see him he is 6 years old, and in a regular school. that's got to be great. >> it's great. and you know, it's exactly what he needed. and each child is different. he has done well and is in a typical school and doing well with his friends. >> reporter: so as a parent, you know that early intervention means so much and means such a difference. what advice do you have for kids or pare

zplmpblt obesity and autism for the first time, a study links the expectant mother's weight with the possibility of an autistic child. new research out this morning. >>> and remembering a legend, newsman mike wallace, his hard-hitting style kept people tuned in for decades. we'll look back to his most memorable interviews. >>> and out of the woods. all the way to a masters green jacket. how bubba watson beat the odds to win golf's first major of the year. >>> good monday morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero in for paula faris. >>> well, the two men under arrest in in the deadly shooting spree in tulsa are set to be arraigned this morning. >> they may be facing hate crimes charges. the spree was likely triggered by racism and revenge. here's scott goldberg. >> reporter: this city in thntoh heartland turned into a shooting gallery. five people hit, three of themm killed, all of them african-american. >> i think they were very upset with black people. >> reporter: relief didn't come until early sunday morning when tulsa police announced they had arrested 19-year-ol

the reality here is that some autism is truly genetic and it's certainly likely some autism is going to be more due to environmental causes. what these new studies suggest is that the two may fit together. the environment may be affecting the risk for autism by influence the genome itself and increasing the likelihood of these spontaneous mutaions. >> sreenivasan: dr. thomas insel director of the national institutes for mental health, thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> sreenivasan: baylor university took the ncaa women's basketball championship last night and made history in the process. the lady bears' 80-61 victory over notre dame completed a perfect season and gave them 40 wins. it's the first time a college team of either gender has won that many games in one season. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to gwen. >> ifill: next, a call and a plan to reduce the number of routine medical tests and procedures. nine medical specialty groups say many of these tests are unnecessary, costland even risky. among the group's recommendations: avoid using x-rays for lower

i think, within a few years, we're no longer going to talk about autism but rather autisms. this is linked to this problem. this is caused by this. and that they're not related at all. as we do that, we'll be able to identify ways to diagnose this, ways to treat it, ways to care for children that have it. that we don't even know about. >> what should parents do with this information right now? >> if you're reaching those child-bearing years, obesity is a bad thing. it's not a good thing at any time. but it's something that, with a lot of work, you can address. and i think it's worth doing. >> richard besser, thanks very much. >>> now to jennifer hudson, the oscar and grammy winner set to see a painful part of her life play out in a chicago courtroom today as jury selection begins for the man accused of murdering her mother, brother and young nephew. alex perez is here with those details. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, robin, welcome back. this is a moment jennifer hudson has been anticipating for years now. how do attorneys figure out how her stardom affects

our focus, early signs of autism and treatment options, dr. joshua winer joins us with what parents should be looking for. let's remind people, what is autistic spectrum disorder. >> so autistic spectrum disorder is a term to describe three general disorders, autism, asperger's disorder and pervasive development disorder. kids with a spectrum disorder are going to have problems with language development, social skills and having very ritualized, routine behaviors that they have a hard time breaking. >> what is the earliest age that a parent should be able to recognize that there could be a problem? >> i think one of the earliest warning signs can be picked up in kids as young as six months old. >> what would that be? >> at six months old, you should be able to get eye contact with your child, maybe do peek-a-boo and have the child respond to your smiles and seem to be interested in you. kids who go on to have an autistic disorder don't do that. other things, kids up to the age of one, if they're not babbling or pointing for things, that can be

out that suggests women who are obese during pregnancy are at greater risk of their child developing autism. >>> we're back in two minutes with more on that story. plus, your weather first. hey guys, breakfast! ♪ [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check. >>> good morning. welcome back to 9news now. it is 4:44. it's tuesday. >> that's what i hear. >> howard is off today. olga is here. i noticed this morning it's not as breezy as yesterday. >> we'll get some gusts later this afternoon. we tend to hold off in the morning. if you're making that early start, it's not so bad. i even think about midday we should be all right but we're going to get closer to 15, 20 mile per hour later today and see some more of those gusts in the late afte

kennedy kreeger. >> and they do the research in the disorder spectrum of autism. let's talk about the event. coming up sunday. coming up sunday. oregon ridge park. >> a special event on sunday. stuff for anyone to do. bike rides. a 25-mile, 50-mile, 5, 10, youth ride. a family festival. nature hike. and there's a magician and a balloon artist and a dj and stuff for everyone to do. >> it is really a family event. i think we should emphasize that. >> family oriented. and everyone is welcome. it is a great way for people to connect with kids who have kids on the autism spectrum and if you don't have a kid on the autism peck trum, a great way to support kennedy krieger's research. >> a great way and let's talk about the food that is going to be. >> there is a tent and the chow hound burger wagon serving food. and the wegman tent has tons of stuff for kids to try and sample. and there's chow hound wagon will have hamburgers and hot dogs and all sorts of thing. >> patrick wrestle and kooch coopers in fells point. he does a great job. >> you can register on the web site

. >>> roaring for autism. how you can help support the research for the developmental disorder that now affects one in 80 maryland children. i'm andrea fujii. that's just ahead on wjz eyewitness news. >>> i'm bob turk. the first warning weather center. more seasonal temps on the way. i'll have the exclusive first warning five-day forecast. ,,,,, ,, >>> a 120 million lawsuit is filed in the city of los angeles after police shoot and kill a 19-year-old. the shooting took place after abdul aryan led police on a high-speed chase. the officers fired over 90 times at the teenager. aryan was later found to be unarmed, but according to police, he told the 911 operator he would pull out his gun if they stopped him. >>> and a frightening scene was caught on camera, when there is a explosion. the video shows the man backing into the gas pump and it ignites. fortunately, all of the customers were able to get away from the fire ball. the driver fled the scene but later turned himself in to police. he could face felony hit

>> next time we're going to do autism. a natural followup to this. because the term came out of the study of schizophrenia. and there are dramatic differences but also some overlap between autism and schizophrenia as judy pointed out. so it is a natural progression. >> thank you, thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> great to see you. thank you for joining us. we look forward to seeing you again on the next episode of our brain series 2. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

plus it's called the autism act. what it is how it'll help. . >>> a man was seriously injured in an apartment fire in san francisco. the fire was called in about 2:30 on wood side avenue. firefighters found the man inside the apartment. he is being treated at the hospital for burns and smoke inhalation. several other residents got attic and were checked at the scene. the cause is under investigation. >> a group of parents traveled to capitol hill today to push for better teacher training for autistic children. >> very been approached by teachers, professionals, specialists and they will tell me we need more training. >> reporter: the parents are throwing their support behind a new bill announced that would create autism grants for school districts. the act would train teachers about the specific educational need of children on the autism spectrum. those with at least 10% of special ed kids on would be eligible. >> many kids on the spectrum, you know there is a stereo type of who they are yet every child is extremely

there have's a link reported between obesity in mothers and autism in children. and a tradition rolls on when the "cbs evening news" continues. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. to help protect your eye hea

the research links weight when eye woman is pregnant with autism in children. we spoke to experts about the study. >> reporter: this group of teen social security s were all born with autism and come to the center for education for speech therapy. educators say having a child with autism can be stressful, some worry a new study may cause some to blame themselves. the study found women who were over weight while pregnant were 67% more likely than women of normal weight to have children with autism. . >> i wouldn't put a lot of weight into it. i would be aware of it and watch it. >> reporter: according to the state department of , the rate increased in the past decade by 15%. more research is needed to confirm the results. >> we never -- wanted to give parents a reason to blame themselves but it's worth putting out there. >> reporter: one in 88 will have autism. the cause of the disorder is unknown but teacher as played any research. >> i'm all for research continuing because i would like to know what cause itself because if we can find a cause we can find a cure

obesity during pregnancy and autism. in this health watch report, theresa explains these new findings. >> reporter: pregnant women who are obese or diabetic may increase their chances of having a child with autism. a new study looked at one thousand mothers in california and their children women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67% more likely to have autistic children, than women who were normal weight. they also had double the risk of having a child with another developmental disorder. >> there is a general fielding some of -- feeling some of the origins of autism are in the pre natal period when the brain is developing at a rapid rate. >> reporter: diabetic mothers were more than twice as likely to have a child with developmental delays and their children scored lower on language and communication tests doctors stress this does not prove obesity and diabetes cause autism but the results raise serious concerns since more than a third of women in their child bearing years are obese. >> actions people can actua

. >>> an important new study in light of the large -- alarming increase in autism rates in children. research on california children show there something something in a woman's pregnancy linked to higher odds for the disorder. sergio quintana is live in the newsroom. >> reporter: good morning the study links obesity during and autism when the child is born. though it does not make direct conclusions it does raise concerns because of the rising rate of obesity in the country and children being diagnosed with autism. researchers analyzed more than 1,000 children between two and 5-years-old, and their mothers. they found mothers who had hyper tension, diabetes or were obese during pregnancy were more than -- more than 60% more likely to have children diagnosed with autism than healthy mothers. there has been a sharp klein in diagnosis. the number of -- 8-year-olds with the disorder has risen to 1 in 88 compared to 1 in 110 a few years ago. partially, becauses did are more aware of disorder so they are -- because doctors are more aware of the disorder. obesity during pregnancy is also be

ktvu's janine de la vega has more. >> reporter: we are here at pace a school for children with autism. educators are curious to hear the latest findings on what makes pima tistic. -- pima tistic. -- peopla -- >> reporter: having a child with autism can be stressful. some worry the study could cause parents to blame themselves. >> i wouldn't put a lot of weight into it. i would be aware of it and keep a good eye on this. >> reporter: in the past decade the rate of children diagnosed with autism increased by 15%. more research is needed to confirm the results. >> we never want to give parents reason to blame themival is but -- themselves but it is worth putting out there. >> reporter: the numbers from the cdc, 1-88 will be diagnosed with autism. >> i am very curious. i don't know if it will happen in my life time. i am all for research because i would like to know what causes it. >> reporter: april is autism awareness month. experts stress the importance of early diagnosis. reporting live, janine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> this may be one of the luckiest buildings in america.

. >> >> hundreds at the baltimore county park to break the silence surrounding autism. these girls are cheering on bikers who cycled as part of the annual roar event featuring a nature walk. part of our continuing community commitment, "wjz" the proud sponsor of the event, helping to raise money for autism research at the kennedy krieger institute. >> when you have you are a parent with a child on the autism perspective, you have your own way to go. >> nationally, one in 88 children are believed to have autism. that figure is 80 children in maryland. >> >> a lot more still to come. caught on tape, bold robbers take down a clerk. shoot him right there in cold blood. grab cash and then they turn the gun on someone else. we'll tell you who. >> >> a break in the case, new video shows people near the home of that missing girl in arizona. do they know where she is >> a campus lock down a crime that closed down a college campus tonight. >> >> canton waterfront, exotic name, more on the mahogany tide coming up >> i'm meteorologist bernadette woods. after a lot of sunshine, clou

so, imagine how much tougher it is for adults with autism. alexis has found an organization that matches such workers to appropriate jobs. >> reporter: mark dreyfus is working at his dream job. >> antivirus is updated. >> reporter: as a member of the geek squad at best buy. >> i feel good. i look forward to it every day. >> reporter: that wasn't always the case. mark was diagnosed with asperger's syndrome, a high functioning form of autism at the age 35. for years mark struggled to keep a job, until he found job path. >> everyone should have an opportunity to contribute to the work force. no matter how significant their challenge is. >> reporter: this new york-based not for profit helps match businesses from retailers to law firms with autistic adults, tailoring the job to meet their special needs. >> when the customer gets here, it's complete, safe and secure. >> reporter: at best buy, mark was uncomfortable working with customers, so they used his master's degree in computer science behind the scenes. >> he does everything a geek squad agen

they compared them to children who didn't have autism. those with autism, it was 60% more likely that their children were obese. >> is this a drekt meshing of -- are we getting more autism because we have more obesity? >> it's not clear. some of the factors driving obesity could also be driving autism. there could be no next at palm 80% of the mothers with autistic children were not obese at all. but the study looked at risk factors you can do something about. in pregnancy, obesity is bad. it's linked to complications. increased risk of birth defects. it's something you can address. it's probably a small piece of the autism puzzle. >> we're getting all the new research piling up. it's more prevalent than we first thought. and that older fathers might have something to do with it. >> i think within a few years, we'll talk about autisms. this is linked to this problem. this is caused by this. and that they're not related at all. as we do that, we'll be able to identify ways to diagnose this, ways to treat it, ways to care for children that

there's a link reported between obesity in mothers and autism in children. and a tradition rolls on when the "cbs evening news" continues. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. to help protect your eye hea

. >>> spotting the early signs of autism can make a big difference. we have tips for moms and dads in about six minutes. >> more on that blue your weather first -- plus your weather first when we return in two minutes. you're watching 9news now. >>> good morning, welcome back to 9news now. a little cold slap in the face this morning from mother nature. some freeze, frost warnings out there? >> yeah, that's so forth and west butwell take fit that's going to -- north and west but we'll take it. if that's going to knock down some of the warnings and allergens. >> thank goodness yes. >> the danger is the growing season has begun and a lot of folks are taking plants inside. the plants. my apple tree looks beautiful right now. >> the question is what the yield would be -- >> if they get damaged by the cold weather. that's the bigger concern. let's talk about the allergy update. that came in yesterday. we've got this just before noon from sue at the u.s. army allergen extract lab and yes the tree pollen was high yesterday. you might have been feeling that. t

the study found children with obese mothers were 67% more mikely to be at risk for autism. experts say it is a wake-up call for new mothers. >> if you are reaching those childbearing years, obesity is a bad thing. it is not good at any time. but it is something that with a lot of work you can address. i think it is worth doing. >> the authors say the results are worrying as more than 1/3 of women of childbearing age in the u.s. are obese. >>> good news for people who use the doyle drive approach to the golden gate bridge. portions of the new roadway and tunnel are expected to be ready to be opened by memorial day, that's early. the seismic retrofiting project has been ongoing the past two years leaving frustrated commuters facing detours. caltrans says the temporary detours will be demolished before memorial day. there will be a complete road closure during one upcoming weekend to final lie the new route. a meeting will be held 6:30 thursday night at the mill valley community center to talk about those closures. >>> san jose's famous falcon family atop city hall just got bi

. >>> today is world autism awareness day. after the break some early warning signs parents need to watch out for, some they may not realize. >> plus a daring attempt to rescue a group of sailors on a yacht. >> the bigger battle tomorrow may be for the d.c. council. we'll preview those races when we come back. >>> we're just one day away from the next big round of primaries in the race for the republican presidential nomination. tomorrow voters here in d.c. and maryland as well as wisconsin all head to the polls to make their pick. right now the two front runners are focusing on the fight in the badger state. the latest polls show mitt romney leads rick santorum by eight points. today the former massachusetts governor enlisted the help of prominent wisconsin congressman paul ryan. >> if we can get a good vote out of wisconsin, a loud confident vote from conservatives, then we can go into this race and win this. >> there we heard from santorum, but romney is counting on a clean sweep tomorrow to help bring him closer to clinchi

the research links weight when eye woman is pregnant with autism in children. we spoke to experts about the study. >> reporter: this group of teen social security s were all born with autism and come to the center for education for speech therapy. educators say having a child with autism can be stressful, some worry a new study may cause some to blame themselves. the study found women who were over weight while pregnant were 67% more likely than women of normal weight to have children with autism. . >> i wouldn't put a lot of weight into it. i would be aware of it and watch it. >> reporter: according to the state department of , the rate increased in the past decade by 15%. more research is needed to confirm the results. >> we never -- wanted to give parents a reason to blame themselves but it's worth putting out there. >> reporter: one in 88 will have autism. the cause of the disorder is unknown but teacher as played any research. >> i'm all for research continuing because i would like to know what cause itself because if we can find a cause we can find a cure

it is 6:15 right now. 7 is on your side with new research on autism. obesity during pregnancy may increase the chance of having a child with autism. the study in the journal pediatrics does not prove obesity causes autism, but it did find that women who were obese during pregnancy, there were more likely to have autistic children. on average, women face a 1/88 chance of having a child with autism. >> mixed news for passengers. >> the hype still going to happen, but it might not be quite as big as one spot. john gonzalez has details and reaction. -- the fare hike is still going to happen. >> good news hardly ever comes hand in hand with metro fare hikes, but that appears to be the case this morning. metro now says that when the fare increases go into effect in july, they will be much smaller than originally anticipated. metro is facing a deficit but now it's $103 million. that number has dropped about $16 million thanks to a reduction in cost cuts and a bus service surplus down from 2011 to. italy, metro proposed increasing rail and bus peak fares by an

the autism community reacting to a new study that links the disorder to obesity. why mothers say that information, well, it doesn't help them. >>> a definite "a" plus how a seventh grader saved a bus full of kids after the driver suffered a seizure. >>> what experts say could be behind facebook's move. >>> and for all your news, traffic, weather updates on o ut onut facebook. search nbc bay area news. >>> welcome back, everybody, happy tuesday morning as we give you a live look outside at saf rafael, traffic not too bad early in the morning, mike will fill you in on what's happening and christina telling you to prepare for a little bit of rain with the nice temperatures. >>> parents are reacting to a new study linking autism to a mother's body weight during pregnancy and mothers with autistic children they're skeptical. >> what, now we are being called fat moms, like, that doesn't really help us. >> our intention was definitely not to put blame or make women feel like they did something wrong. >> the study published yesterday in the journal "pediatrics" said women

>> coming up, a new study on preventing autism. how it could be a wake-up call for pregnant women. >> and could they be moving across the bay? the warriors may be eyeing a piece of land in san francisco. but it's not with the giants. >>> and a surprising decision in the deadly shooting of an unarmed florida teenager. why the pe tseakingrot taking the case to a grand jury. sweetheart. we need to talk. i've seen your stunts online. i can explain... jumping a ramp in a shopping cart. so 2005. wait, what? and only 3 likes? honey, it's embarrassing. carol's son got over 12 million views on that dancing squirrel video. don't you want that? i...i suppose. now go make your dad and me proud. try something funny. [ male announcer ] now everyone's up to speed. get high speed internet for $14.95 a month for 12 months. at&t. ♪ we were skipping stones ♪ and letting go ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ [ female announcer ] at nature valley, we know nature comes together in amazing ways. that's why we bring together natural ingredients,

. >>> well, a ground-breaking study sheds new light on autism research. scientists say they've found a link between autism and a mother's weight during pregnancy. the study found women who are obese during pregnancy are 60% more likely to have a child with autism and twice as likely to have a child with a developmental delay. the study found children without autism whose mothers were obese during pregnancy also had deficits in problem solving and language, though not as severe. >> it is 4:37 right now. time for a check on your weather. today's not too bad. >> today's probably the best day of the entire week if you want to get outdoors and i'm including the upcoming weekend. this morning, it's mild. temperaturewise, we're in the 50s in some cities, 50 degrees in oakland and san francisco, 4 in san jose. you'll need a jacket, kind of a cool start. you can peel off by noon today, we are talking about the 70s we've enjoyed over the past couple of days. we'll hold on to the 70s for one more day. really potent system getting its act together in the pacific. we'

. >> reporter: and given the executive director of autism speaks national capital area, she joins us new to talk more about this. ann, thanks for being with us. >> hi, laura, thanks for having me. >> what is your reaction seeing the story? >> we can't comment on any particular cases, but we saw the same footage you did online and it's awful. autism is often a communication disorder and in this classroom, it was the adult who had the communication disorder. >> uh-huh. >> and that language was child and much less when they can't defend themselves. >> and this is troubling for any parent, something you wouldn't expect from teachers. how often do you think something, this type of behavior is happening coming from the teacher? >> most teachers, and i believe adults in question were teacher's aids. most are in the profession for the right reason and this is, unfortunately, not the first time and not the first time this week and that i have heard things happening. >> is this an indication that teachers and teacher's aids need more training and dealing with a child with autism? go any parent

alisyn: ever since the new autism numbers came out showing 1 in every 88 children have autism. what do you make of this study showing a mother's obesity could cause it? >> allison, we've been looking very carefully what the effects on the mother are in terms of autism developing later. that seems to be the holy grail here. what women are exposed to or have children in the womb seems to lead to an increase. whether risk in the environment. this big study published in pediatrics today, found that looking at over 1,000 kids, there is 60% increased risk of autism or austism spectrum disorder in women that owe obese. 34ers m of the women in child bearing years are obese. there is increased risk of diabetes. increased risk of high blood pressure and whopping risk with obesity. alisyn: the problem with these findings we all know lots of moms who are thin who have autistic children. >> that's true. we also don't know by the way even if this is real and what we call an observational study because it doesn't have a cause and effect, it doesn't prove being obese causes autism. but the inc

. >>> a link between obesity an diabetes during pregnancy and autism. teresa garcia reports on the findings of this brand new study. >> reporter: pregnant women who are obese or diabetic increase their chances of having a child with autism. a study looks at about 1,000 women. they also had double risk of having a child with another developmental disorder. >> there's a general feeling that some of the origins of autism are probably in the is developing at a very rapid rate. >> reporter: diabetic mothers were more than twe as likely to have a child with development delays and their children also scored lower. researchers say the results isconcerns since more 1/3 of women in their childbearing years are obese. >> there's actions people can take and that's the point, we're trying to find modifiable factors which by and large genetics not. >> reporter: even if obesity and diabetes is linked to autism, it'll be one of the many factors that factor into the disorder. >> the centers for disease control now estimates that one in 88 children have autism in the u.s

. >>> as the number of children with autism rises in the united states so does the number of autistic adults who need help. >> many of them end up in group homes but as ines ferre reports the wait list for those homes are growing. >> reporter: michael is preparing breakfast at this group home. >> it feels happy to be with me friends. >> reporter: the 49-year-old lives with six other autistic adults. they all have responsibility like preparing meals and cleaning up. >> we try of the people living in situations with their peers and we're doing more activities and have similar levels of functioning so they can communicate with each other and socialize with each other. >> reporter: even autism services runs 11 group homes in new jersey. they house five to seven adults each and trained staff members provide provision. but it's extremely difficult to get into them. about 5,000 you a text dumbs are on a waiting list in -- autistic adults are on a waiting list in new jersey. what did you do with your money today? >> bought some coffee. >> reporter: experts say working gives autistic adults a

. >> a local mother takes on autism. we love gardening... yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual. i want you to grow big! if you grow for me you'll get cookies for free. nothing worked. ♪ ♪ but we started using miracle-gro garden soil. you just mix it with your backyard soil... and it feeds your plants for up to 3 months. my plants grew bigger... more beautiful... with more flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. everything changed with miracle-gro. for you are these flowers, like soap is for showers. everyone grows with miracle-gro. >> a mother is fighting for a cure for autism. she is chasing it away for her son, chase. >> chase is a very happy energetic little boy. >> at 5-years old, he is a lot like your typical boy. he is active and busy and curious about the world. the only differences he has autism. >> separate the was really crashed and i thought this was the end -- at first i was really crushed and i thought this was the end. >> his mother took the disorder had on. >> i wanted to help not only him but other children out there to

. >>> coming up, could it be possible to outgrow some forms of autism. some say yes. >>> plus, the a, b, c, d, e's of skin cancer. what you need to know about your teen and their chance of risk. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... until i had the shingles. it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com >>> good news for fame lills with children who have autism. 10% of children living with autism can outgrow their diagnosis by the teens. the study tracked nearly 7,000 autistic children in california and more than half did not have intellectual disabilities. the study referred to them has late bleerms. >>> you want to have a sun kiss glow in time for summer, right? according to the mayo clinic the rates of skin cancer are rocketing because of tanning beds. melanoma cases increased in people between 18 and 39. doctors say it's important to educate your say about it asymmetry

. >>> doctors don't know what causes autism, there is a study that is shedding light on a possible risk factor. linda so has details on the new study. >> if you are obese, diabetic and pregnant you could have an increased risk of having a baby with autism or developmental disorders. researchers examined 1000 kids and mother's health and found obese mothers had 1.6 times the chance of having a child with autism and found they were more than twice as lakely to have a child with another developmental disorder. the risk increased for moms with diabetes and kids performed lower on language and communication tests. researchers say the rising rates of obesity and diabetes maybe directly associated with neuro development tall problems in kids -- developmental problems in kids. >> this is important information. they need to know, if you want to give your kid the best start in the world, i'm sure every mom wants that for their child, you have to pay careful attention to our i don't health. >> the study can be found in the journal of pediatrics. linda so, abc2 news. >>> rick santorum has no campai

>> on locking the mystery of why children develop autism. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> it could be a sign it that the race for the republican presidential nomination is over. superdelegate say that mitt romney will be the man to be president barack obama. here's a look at the latest count. mitt romney has more than twice as many as rick santorum but he still needs nearly 500 more delegates to clinch the nomination. graced lee is here to show us why it is all but a done deal for the front runner. >> let's get superdelegates. in california they're not allowed to endorse anyone publicly until the june 5th primary but if you take a look nationwide, superdelegates make it clear that mitt romney is their man. in the contentious race for the republican presidential nomination, the three man contest is essentially over. a new era has begun with mitt romney emerging as the presumptive nominee. >> it is the sense, everyone is wondering when it will be officially over because now is officially over. >> he is a professor of politics at st. mary's college of california. he says mitt romney is reiterat

. >>> after the break, autism and eating disorders. it's a problem for many kids, like 7-year-old caylee. but there's help and also hope. her story, next. stay with us at cnn saturday morning where news doesn't take the weekend off. >>> here is a preview of this week's next list. a look inside a virtual world with video game designer jane mcconnell. >> there are a billion people on the planet now who qualify as gamers. there are games you can play to learn how to start your own business. if you're unemployed and want to start your own company, there is a game you can play to learn how to do that. when i tell people, hey, do you want to cure cancer or alzheimer's? you can do that by playing a game. games are an extraordinary way to tap into the best version of yourself, the most determined, the most creative, the most resilient. i am a game designer and i'm the inventor of super better. [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't. if you want a luxury car with a standard power moonroof, your options are going to be limited. â™

. >>> and right after the break, how service dogs are helping children with autism. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today. >>> back on 9news now with a health alert, a warning from maryland's department of health. a product marketed as a cold medicine for kids is showing up on shelves, but if you see it, you better not use it. that's according to the health department. it's sold under the name bakzol. thelt department says it -- the health department says it's an unapproved medicine. >>> service dogs help a lot of folks with disabilities. as teresa garcia explains an ohio organization is training dogs to help children with autism and their families. >> reporter: this black lab is practi