First, let me tell you why I care about autism. One of our family friends has a daughter that was recently diagnosed with it. I think when something hits close to home, it really starts to have an impact on you, and this certainly did for me! I heard stories of frustration over seeing specialist after specialist and getting rejected from various things. I can't remedy their situation, but I can spread awareness, in the hopes that it is a way of giving back (kinda!).
There are a lot of theories out there about where autism comes from/what it is caused by. I'm not interested in discussing that, because a lot of it is political. Quite frankly, there isn't enough research on it yet, either! What I do want to talk about is basic facts and resources that can be used with children with autism.
FACTS:
-Characteristics include difficulties with social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behavior
-Autism is a SPECTRUM and includes autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD-NOS, and Asperger syndrome (NOTE: These will be all under the term ASD when the DSM-V comes out in May 2013).
-Associations: intellectual disability, difficulties with motor coordination, difficulties with attention, some difficulties with physical health
-roughly 1 in 88 children have autism (1 in 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls) in the United States...that's more than diabetes, cancer, or AIDS combined
RESOURCES:
-Autism Speaks
-Autism Facts Sheet
-List of Autism Apps here
-The Autism Helper (blog)
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:
-Find an Autism Speaks walk near you
-Build-A-Bear Autism Speaks Bear (they donate money from each sale)
-Clothing companies with positive messages about autism (more info on Autism Speaks website)
By the way, Smart Apps for Kids is throwing a giveaway just for this day! You can enter to win an IPAD 2!!! Enter here.
Thank you for this post! The more people know, the better we can help these kids!! :)
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