Parents of autistic toddlers are now getting help from an unexpected place: The iPad and a growing range of apps for autistic kids. These apps can help children express themselves, learn to talk, help you measure their stress level. It's like an amazing shortcut to communicating with your child.

And while an iPad seems expensive, it's far less expensive and smaller than other equipment that does the same things for autistic kids. You can customize some of the apps, uploading photos of the exact things your child wants so they can just point -- without having to negotiate any other distracting images or ideas.

The app revolution is a boon to parents, but experts warn it's not THE answer to everything.

Aww. Isn’t it just adorable when kids try to say one thing and end up saying something completely different? Every mama has some embarrassing story to hold on to and conveniently relive when their babies turn into teenagers. But the parents of this sassy little two-year-old are going to have a really juicy one—and they were kind enough to share it with the rest of us to giggle and gasp at.

It only sounds like the little girl has gotten a jump start on a phrase that will ultimately come in handy in traffic and bad breakups. In the meantime, she’s only innocently trying to pronounce “vacuum.” Honest.

"What’s in a name?" asked Shakespeare. One town is asking. And it’s the town with the single most awesome name of all time. No, not Paris. Not London. Not my beloved Brooklyn. But the town of Fucking, Austria. I’m not making this up.

The residents of the town, or rather, the village of Fucking, named after a sixth century Bavarian nobleman named Focko, are getting a wee bit tired of tourists either stealing and/or taking off their clothes and getting busy with its town signs. So the residents will vote later this week on whether to change the village’s name.

Aw, kids learning to say things. So cute! Almost as cute as kitten videos. Here's a little girl trying, over and over again, to say "fire pit." Except it sounds like she's saying "f*ck it." And her parents apparently cannot get enough of this hilarity. "Say fire pit! Say fire pit!" Parents, you are sick (in a good way!). Also, thank you for making this video. Except, can we talk about your back story?

What did you say, mom?I have a few rules about how I behave in front of my kids: 1) Don't talk smack about people around the little ones, mostly because they repeat everything you say -- usually in front of the person you were trashing, 2) don't be hysterical and/or negative unless it's absolutely necessary, and 3) never use curse words in front of them, for similar reasons as #1.

However, I'm retiring rule #3 as of today, and it feels fucking great.

What ya thinking, kid?Before having babies of my own, I was fascinated by a friend's baby son who was able to communicate when he was hungry or sleepy with just a few simple gestures. Later, that kid went on to become one of the most verbal little tykes I'd ever met, and I decided that I too would one day teach my babies sign language.

So, here we are, several years later, and I'm trying to do some baby sign language with my 7-month-old twins. I mean, it's going to be awhile until they're signing back, or until I even know that all my hand waving and cow-milking is getting through, but I'm sticking with it!

Are Republican leaders afraid of Rush Limbaugh? That's what conservative commentator George Will sure thinks. On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Will mocked House Leader John Boehner for saying Limbaugh's language was "inappropriate." (Understatement much, John?) "Using the salad fork for your entrée, that’s inappropriate. Not this stuff. And it was depressing because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh."

Ouch, Republican leaders! Are you going to take that one sitting down? Anyone out there willing to prove George wrong? Hello? (Sound of crickets chirping.)

Happy birthday to Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss! He was born today back in 1904, and his books still speak to readers of all ages. It's hard to find a family bookshelf that doesn't have at least one Dr. Seuss, whether it's Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, or Oh! The Places You'll Go.

Dr. Seuss books were my favorite books to read to my son when he was a little guy -- not least because they're so much fun to read aloud. "Far away in Berlin a musical urchin named Gretchen von Schwinn has a blue-footed, true-footed, trick-fingered, slick-fingered, six-fingered, six-stringed tin Schwinn mandolin." That's from Oh Say Can You Say.  Why else did I love reading Seuss to my kid? Let me count the whys.