Autism Awareness Day 1

April is Autism Awareness Month and I will be posting every day this month about autism....something to learn, websites, events, etc. It is a confounding disorder, easily misconstrued and what works for one family may not for another. I hope to make sense of it myself and hopefully provide some discussion and inspiration for others.

Why is this important to me? Our son Connor has autism. Simple as that.

I am asking you as a blogger friend to please post a link to my blog and invite everyone you know to stop by. Not because I know a lot, but because we all know or will know someone with autism.

First of all: April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Tomorrow-if you can-go by Toys R Us and donate a few dollars. Maybe pick up a developmental toy for a kid with autism or donate one. Stop at Barnes and Noble-over 500 locations are hosting story time for autism-both for kids with autism and to teach children about others with autism.

What is autism? I'll be honest here-as the risk of sounding like an uneducated educator-I have taught children with autism for years. I did not understand it until my son began showing the signs.

Autism is a neurobiological disorder (a brain disorder) that typically impairs an individual's communication and social skills. It is a medical condition. No one knows why it happens and there is no cure. While persons with autism can make significant progress, this disorder is for a lifetime. Right now, autism affects 1 in 150 children, 1 in 94 boys, with more than 24,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

Symptoms are usually detected around 18 months of age, but many children are not diagnosed until around or after age 3. Information is being gathered about these children as infants, but nothing is documented on infants with autism. For some parents (like us), the child appears to be developing normally and has an abrupt decline or stop to all communication and learning. For some, it seems to happen overnight.

Learn the red flags for autism-whether you are a parent or not. I have read stories where a friend, grandparent or babysitter has alerted the parent to something amiss.

From the Autism Speaks Website:

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter

• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter

• No babbling by 12 months

• No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months

• No words by 16 months

• No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months

• Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age

Autism does NOT mean mentally retarded-many, if not most children with autism are intelligent, some beyond what we could imagine! (there is quite a "who's who" list of famous individuals with autism-saving that for another day!) That being said, some multiply handicapped students also have autism. The two are not always linked. So, be careful to use the correct terminology. Autism also doesn't mean that you take some medicine and a few weeks later, you have a cured child. However, some parents are convinced that a child can be cured with biomedical therapies and diet. Be aware that what works for one child may not have the same result on another.

Some parents are very sensitive to saying "autistic child" versus a "child with autism". Be careful here and see what the parent and/or child prefer. Why so P.C.? Many people believe that the child is a child first and autism does not define the child. Some parents are okay with "autistic"; some circles even say "auties." Be sensitive to what the parent wishes-they have enough to deal with. Many parents are tough advocates-some of them give up careers and income in order to care for a child with autism.

Autism is such a broad disorder by definition. It is a spectrum-including classic autism, Autism-PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified), Asperger's and Rett Syndrome -meaning a child with autism can fall into one of these categories depending on his/her particular set of characteristics. Young children can (but not always) move on the spectrum as they get older. With autism, most children develop rigid routines or repetitive behaviors. I will interject here that many of these routines and behaviors serve to regulate the child's sensory system. It can produce a calming effect on them when things get too hectic or they feel overstimulated. My son lays on his side and rolls his little car back and forth when he is overloaded or tired. We ALL have something that calms us-we just might not choose to line up toys, flap hands, spin in circles or roll a little car back and forth.

Autism is NOT the end of the world. My son is beautiful. He is filled with fun and joy and all the typical trappings of a toddler. I would not trade him for the world. Sure, it is hard-sometimes we are tapped out emotionally and other weeks we coast along. We have had supportive hands around us all the way-before he was even born. So autism put a bit of a monkey wrench in our master plan. Now we are busy rewriting the plan.

Comment for the day-if you would like to add anything you feel is important to know about autism itself, please share. And if you know someone with autism-think of one terrific thing you can tell us about them!

To site my source of information: www.autismspeaks.org