You’ve probably seen the autism awareness logo, the ribbon with multicolored puzzle pieces that’s popping up on car bumpers, T-shirts, and all sorts of items. It’s all part of a well-financed and coordinated campaign to not only boost awareness but also find a cure.

It seems like autism came out of the blue a few years ago—in fact, the rate of the disability has increased some 900 percent in the last decade. It’s now estimated to affect about one in 150 students, mainly boys, as I explained in our recent story, “The Cost of Autism.”

But every report seems to unleash more frantic questions than answers: Why the sudden increase? Have there always been children and adults with autism who were just thought to be a little “off”? What causes autism? What can be done to treat it? What is the cure?

Unfortunately, right now researchers are still struggling with the first question, trying to figure out just how many children have autism, whether some regions of the country actually have higher incidences or are just more apt to make a diagnosis, and whether there’s been a sudden increase or just acknowledgement of the disorder, which varies widely from highly intelligent children whose social abilities are somewhat idiosyncratic to very low-functioning children with multiple disabilities.

But some researchers worry that the quest for a cure is overshadowing the fact that children with autism can greatly benefit from readily available treatments and interventions.

“There are no definitive answers to anything—but we haven’t met anybody with autism who can’t improve and improve significantly” with the right interventions, said Lee Grossman, the executive director of the Autism Society of America.

Edward Carr, a psychology professor and researcher at the State University of New York-Stony Brook, notes that some 90 to 100 genes, plus potentially thousands of environmental triggers, may be involved with autism, making even the possibility of a cure elusive.

“It’s very important to explore what the causes are, but people have to be realistic and understand that autism is at least as complicated as cancer,” he said. “The real issue is living with autism.”

There are many people who are currently living with diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, he added. “None of these are curable but that doesn’t mean their life is ruined -- that is the hopeful message that isn’t getting across in autism.”

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor