Culture :: World Autism Awareness Month

Each April 2, Autism Speaks celebrates Light It Up Blue along with the international autism community, in commemoration of the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day. Light It Up Blue is a unique global initiative that kicks-off Autism Awareness Month and helps raise awareness about autism. In honor of this historic day, many iconic landmarks, hotels, sporting venues, concert halls, museums, bridges and retail stores are among the hundreds of thousands of homes and communities that take part to Light It Up Blue. (Source:Autism Speaks Website).

Advances in Autism Research:

It may seem hard to believe that just two decades ago, autism was a mysterious and somewhat infrequent disorder that affected an estimated 1 in 5,000 children. Autism awareness as well as the number of children affected has increased dramatically. Today, thanks to awareness and advocacy efforts, people now have a much better understanding of autism. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now estimates that 1 in 88 children, including 1 in 54 boys, in the United States has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Another recent federal report presented data that autism prevalence among school-aged children, as reported by parents, is 1 in 50. An Autism Speaks-funded South Korean study, which used a more rigorous methodology, found a prevalence of 1 in 38 students. (Source: The Huffington Post by Geraldine Dawson).

Over the years more information has shed light on this disorder. Now it is understood that there is not one type of autism, but rather it is a spectrum of disorders that have different causes and different manifestations and that both genetic and environmental factors are involved.

Ten Important Things Discovered about ASD:

The Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks, Geraldine Dawson, cites ten important things that have been discovered about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) within the past year:

1. High-quality early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can do more than improve behaviors, it can improve brain function.

2. Being nonverbal at age 4 does NOT mean children with autism will never speak. Research shows that most will, in fact, learn to use words, and nearly half will learn to speak fluently.

3. Though autism tends to be life long, some children with ASD make so much progress that they no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for autism. High quality early-intervention may be key.

4. Many younger siblings of children with ASD have developmental delays and symptoms that fall short of an autism diagnosis, but still warrant early intervention.

5. Research confirms what parents have been saying about wandering and bolting by children with autism: It’s common, it’s scary, and it doesn’t result from careless parenting.

6. Prenatal folic acid, taken in the weeks before and after a woman becomes pregnant, may reduce the risk of autism.

7. One of the best ways to promote social skills in grade-schoolers with autism is to teach their classmates how to befriend a person with developmental disabilities.

8. Researchers can detect presymptom markers of autism as early as 6 months — a discovery that may lead to earlier intervention to improve outcomes.

9. The first medicines for treating autism’s core symptoms are showing promise in early clinical trials.

10. Investors and product developers respond to a call to develop products and services to address the unmet needs of the autism community.

We at dandelion moms are happy to be participating in spreading the word about Autism Awareness today and all month. With knowledge comes compassion and understanding of the challenges (and joys) families with autistic children face and how best to support them!