Team Michael is a group of runners running the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) to raise money for the Organization for Autism Research (OAR).  Michael is the 13 year old son of one of the team's runners and he was diagnosed with autism before his second birthday.  While he is healthy, active and likes to swim, play soccer, build puzzles, do karate, cheerleading and ride his bike. His cognitive development is years behind his peers in school, and he requires assistance with tasks many of us take for granted. Michael is not dying from autism, but his disability certainly impacts his life as well as those that surround and care for him. There is so much about autism that we do not understand. What we do know is that the prevalence of autism is rising. We do not know what causes autism and there is no cure, but research provides hope and a promise of a better quality of life for those affected by autism. Growing at an alarming rate, today 1 in 68 children are born with autism.