Craig and the stop sign
In 2008, I posted the following to a my in honor of Autism Awareness Day:
Just thought I would do my part in educating a few more people in the world about the importance of early detection of Autism. Everyday in pretty much ALL of my classes we talk about the importance of early intervention when it comes to disorders like autism, syndromes like down syndrome, speech and language disorders, hearing impairments, and I could go on and on but let me just say for the record...the early years are the years you can make the biggest difference in a child's life--and that goes for any child disabled or not!
A few things I think everyone should know about Autism:
What is Autism?
Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
Common signs of Autism:
Autism varies widely in its severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps. Doctors rely on a core group of behaviors to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of autism. These behaviors are:
-impaired ability to make friends with peers
-impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
-absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
-stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
-restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
-preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
-inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
It is crazy that since I wrote this, the incidence of ASD is now 1:88 which was released just last week by the CDC. And so, now more than ever, we need to be aware of Autism. We need to know how to support these amazing children, adults and their families. This includes supporting them in our classrooms, communities, families and social circles. It means learning about it, talking about it and doing something about it.
A few things I think everyone should know about Autism:
What is Autism?
Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
Common signs of Autism:
Autism varies widely in its severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps. Doctors rely on a core group of behaviors to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of autism. These behaviors are:
-impaired ability to make friends with peers
-impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
-absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
-stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
-restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
-preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
-inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
It is crazy that since I wrote this, the incidence of ASD is now 1:88 which was released just last week by the CDC. And so, now more than ever, we need to be aware of Autism. We need to know how to support these amazing children, adults and their families. This includes supporting them in our classrooms, communities, families and social circles. It means learning about it, talking about it and doing something about it.
My Mom and I recently had the opportunity to attend two seminars which centered on various aspects of Autism: one hosted at the Jewish Community Center in Salt Lake City and one at Weber State University. In discussion after both of these seminars, Mom left feeling lost because it didn't seem that anyone talked about the things that she "would have talked about and that things she feels she needs support and direction with." In talking about what these things are, it's the things that anyone would almost automatically leave out of the conversation: the meltdowns, the hard times, the struggles and the ever evolving difficulties. While you work so hard to constantly overcome these things, they seem to have a way of coming back around. The times when Autism gets the best of things and life really isn't just different but its a fight in the trenches. As we continued talking about it, we realized we are just as guilty as the next in omitting the details most of the time. And so, my goal for the upcoming year is to help make Autism more understandable in terms of what it is like in my life, the life of my family, and most importantly what it is like in Craig's life.
Autism awareness begins with those who live with autism.
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