World Autism Awareness Day 2011

While the whole month of April is dedicated to Autism Awareness, today is World Autism Awareness Day.

As some of you might already know, we have been affected by autism in our family.  And we have found it to be everything from an adventure to a challenge, from which we continue to learn daily.

In the first year or two after diagnosis, I lived on Google, sought advice from other parents with a child living with autism, read and learned from 'the experts'.

Now, while I am still learning and seeking information from a variety of sources (at the top of that list are my kidlet's words, actions, and behaviors...they will tell a lot if we'll just try to understand), one resource that I'm learning quite a bit from is the growing community of adults living with autism, who are sharing from their perspectives.

So, I thought it quite appropriate today to share with you a piece I read yesterday (thanks again to the tweeps tweeting away on twitter for sharing!), written by an adult living with high functioning autism, asking people to move beyond simply being aware of autism and learning more about what autism actually is.

Awareness, understanding, acceptance at Normal is Overrated

Please take a few moments to click over and read.  And if you have a story to tell, something insightful to share, or a resource you want to spread the word about in regards to autism, please do!

World Autism Awareness Day

Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day! And here, in the United States, all of April is Autism Awareness month. We have been affected by autism in our own family. And after the diagnosis came in, I began climbing that learning hill, er, um, curve! Thankfully, there are sites like Autism Speaks, TACA, Autism Society, and many others to visit and learn more!

Just two years ago, the incidence rate being reported was 1 child in 150 is affected with Autism. Now, the CDC (Center for Disease Control in the U.S.) reports that the rate has increased to 1 in 110 for all children and 1 in 70 for boys and TACA reports a rate of 1 in 91!

The numbers are growing. And whether you are aware of it or not, you most likely know someone who is affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Support, research dollars, and understanding are needed by the community at large. In support of World Autism Awareness Day, will you take a few minutes of your time to do a little reading? Or wear blue? Or share your own experiences with someone? Do you know someone who is affected by autism?