We’ve had several posts on autism and vaccination in this blog. Many of us parents have divergent points of view on this matter.

A special on autism has been featured on Good Morning America, presented by Dr. Timothy Johnson, medical editor at ABC News. These stories are also now available online as short, easy-to-digest video clips available on the website of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

One news video gives an overview of what is officially known as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Then there are a couple of interviews of celebrity parents who have children with autism. Among these are actors Didi Conn, Joe Mantegna, and Ken Reibel. Every parent interviewed agreed that it is very difficult to live with autism yet they also give some messages of hope to other parents in the same situation. Didi’s message is “don’t be afraid of the “A” word.”

Of course, an autism spotlight program wouldn’t be complete without touching on childhood vaccines. Here we can hear both sides of the argument and inform ourselves. Didi Conn asked some interesting questions at two health experts. Finally, the program also presented and discussed autism treatments and research advancements.

Tony Award winning Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur and her husband comedy writer Judah Miller are expecting their first baby in September. But doesn’t she look five months pregnant on Dancing With The Stars? The couple are expecting via a surrogate mother.

Marissa was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the very young age of 27. She needed a hysterectomy to treat the disease and made a full recovery, but thought she would never be able to have her own baby.

But last year, doctors implanted her fertilized egg into a surrogate mother’s womb, and now the surrogate is five months pregnant with a baby boy.

Congratulations to the Marissa and Judah! They say how grateful and excited they are to be able to become parents thanks to their surrogate.

Marissa and Judah are not the first celebrity couple to be able to have children with a surrogate mother. In November 2007, Dennis Quaid and wife Kimberly’s twins Thomas and Zoe were born. They are the biological parents of the babies, carried by the surrogate mother.

Dennis and Kimberly say of their twins, and their surrogate; “God has definitely blessed us.” I’m sure that’s a sentiment shared by every parent who has been given the gift of a child (or children!) by a wonderful surrogate mother.