While the entire month of April is considered Autism Awareness Month, this is the first year that the world has acknowledged today, April 2nd, as World Autism Awareness Day.
As the mother of an autistic child it is important for me to be sure that the world (especially our world of Wolfeboro) is AWARE of this disorder and that they ACCEPT my son for exactly who he is.
From www.worldautismawarenessday.org :
Did you know?
-Autism affects as many as 1 in 150 children and 1 in 94 boys
-Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the world
-More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer, & AIDS combined
-Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
-There is no medical detection or cure for autism, but early diagnosis and intervention improve outcomes
-Autism does not discriminate by geography, class, or ethnicity
If you don't know about autism, I encourage you to take a minute and learn a bit more. CNN is running programs about autism all day, there are also many articles on their website.
If you don't know someone with autism wait a while - you will meet them. Soon enough our schools will be full of them. This is not a problem just for the families, this is a problem for society as a whole.
Take some time today and learn a little bit more about autism - if not for me than for the child you will meet soon enough who is affected.
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