Become Aware...

April is Autism Awareness month.

This beautiful face you see below is just one face of Autism.



There are many, many more.

Though I cannot take credit for creating that precious, handsome face- I am blessed to be his Auntie, nonetheless.

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the world, with an annual increase of 10% each year.

Autism affects a child's ability to communicate in typical ways with other people.

1 out of every 150 children born in the United States today will have Autism. In some states, the number of children currently enrolled in Public schools with Autism is much higher. My state, Minnesota, ranks #1 with 1 in every 81 children in MN public schools having Autism.

Autism is 4 times more likely to affect boys than girls.

We should not fear these statistics, we should learn from them. We need to let it affect us, even if one of our own children does not have Autism. We need to reach out to people we know- or maybe even people we don't know - and find out how we can help. Maybe the biggest way we can help is as simple as learning more about the disorder and becoming educated. Education is power... maybe power to alter the growing epidemic.

Although Autism is a disorder that can be so frustrating in limiting communication between autistic and non-autistic people, I'll tell you what it is not.

It does NOT have the ability to limit love.
Though Autistic children may not say I love you with words or give hugs, they show love in many other ways that are just as meaningful. Sometimes with a simple smile. Sometimes by humming extra excitedly when you greet them.

It is NOT a disorder that limits intelligence.
Although Autistic children may at times exhibit behaviors that to the typical world seem odd or eccentric, it does not have any bearing on their mental facilities. Because one child enjoys spinning around in circles or clapping his hands over and over again does not mean that his intelligence is limited. It simply means that spinning around is something that he enjoys.

It does NOT mean every Autistic child thinks like "Rain Man."
On the flip side of the "un-intelligence" myth- it also does it mean every autistic child is a savant and can multiply 4 billion times 2 trillion in 3 seconds. Autistic children are similar to typical children in that they are ALL DIFFERENT. Some are brilliant, some are average, some might be below average. But Autism does NOT inhibit their ability to think and reason and wonder and calculate and ponder.

It is not a disorder that inhibits hearing.
There is no need to shout or talk louder to Autistic children. They might not answer your question, but rest assured they can hear you just fine. Let's stop talking about them like they are not standing 2 feet away. They can hear and understand just fine.

It is NOT a disorder that disconnects them from "our world" and puts them in a "world of their own."
This is perhaps my least favorite misconception because I fear it may have the greatest impact on how we treat autistic individuals and how WE limit the interaction and connection we could otherwise be engaging them in. While it is true that autistic children SENSE the world differently than we do- they are not in a world of their own. And when we ignore them, or talk about them as if they are not there, we foster this misconception. We live in the same world, but they experience senses at such an extraordinarily heightened level, it may, at times seem like we are in different worlds. But, maybe, in some ways, we are the ones missing out because we have no idea what it is like to experience a particular sound the way that they might. Or to smell something as they would. Or touch something and have it elicit a million different sensations.

It is NOT a disorder that limits emotion.
Children with Autism feel emotion's just the same as the rest of us. They feel happiness, anger, concern, humor, fear, joy, sadness, love, excitement... all of it. They don't always express it in a way that a non-Autistic person might choose to express it- but they feel it all, just the same. Just because he doesn't laugh at your joke doesn't mean he didn't hear you, or didn't "get it." Or- maybe he didn't think it was funny, and that's why he didn't laugh. With Autism, supercifial facades don't exist like they do in the "typical" world.

Most important, this is not a disorder that inhibits hope.
I cannot pretend to know what it is like to have a child with autism. To struggle to connect with my child and to be challenged, not only "every day"- but every single moment of every single day. But I do know this. I can help by becoming educated. I can know what Autism is and what Autism is not. I can ask questions and learn more and find out ways that I can communicate with my nephew. I can find simple ways to help. Simple ways are better than no help at all.

There is hope. There is information. There are things that can be done.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/

http://www.generationrescue.org/

Please offer encouragement to someone you might already know, or someone you may someday soon meet who has a child with Autism. Find ways to help... start by learning more and passing it along. Knowledge is power and power = change.