Kids who live in the rainy northwest spend more time indoors; so they watch more television,don't get as much vitamin d and may be exposed to more toxins coming from rain. That's according to Cornell University Researchers. Their study says those factors may trigger autism in genetically susceptible children. University of Portland Professor Ellyn Arwood says the public shouldn 't jump to conclusions.

" Is it interesting? yes. Does it need more research? Yes. Are there questions there that aren't answered? Yes."

The Cornell team focused on chilren in California, Oregon and Washington. They say autism appears more often in rainy and snowy counties. Arwood says it's worth looking at environmental factors.

" Maybe the rain does have environmental..... Pollution on west coast from China."

The Autism Society of America is disputing the research. In a statement it says:  "Places that have less precipitation have essentially the same prevalence - based on the study, you'd think that Arizona would have fewer cases than Washington, and that doesn't seem to be the case. We're not seeing such huge  differences from state to state."

But professor Arwood says it's just a link.

"It's sort of like after you die your toenails supposedly grow .. Does that mean dying causes your toenails to grow? Of course it doesn't."