Welcome to National Autism Month! April 1st marked the beginning of National Autism Month and “Light It Up Blue”,
sponsored by Autism Speaks and designed to spread autism awareness to men, women and children who aren’t living with autism.
In the spirit of National Autism Month I’ve scoured the web and put together a collection of the best sites to find information on autism, living with autism and how you can hep spread autism awareness. I hope you’ll take the time to read their stories, learn what you don’t know and make an effort to expand your understanding of what it means to live with ASD.
1) A Twibbon for April It’s a “complete” puzzle - no pieces are missing. It’s also a “listening” person with two people talking on the left and the right. The middle piece is round and the others are square giving a kinda keyhole shape. Spreading awareness is key! Get it?
2) Project of the Month: New CDC Study Puts Autism Prevalence at 1 In 110 American Children, 1 In 70 Boys In the wake of today’s new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stating that autism now affects 1 in every 110 American children, Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, called on the federal government to immediately step up its efforts – and dramatically increase funding – to address the growing national autism public health crisis.
3) Autism Speaks Light It Up Blue 66,641 people are joining Autism Speaks to shine a light on autism by raising awareness in communities across North America.
4) For the 2nd year, Fenway was illuminated in blue light to help bring attention to autism.
5) Raising Awareness for Asperger and Autism In recognition of World Autism Day, the Moose Jaw Asperger/Autism support group manned an information booth at the Town ‘N’ Country Mall on Saturday to help raise awareness.
6) What is Autism? Autism is known as a complex developmental disability. Experts believe that Autism presents itself during the first three years of a person’s life. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person’s communication and social interaction skills.
7) Public Schools Prepare to Educate Kids with Autism ßOlder article that makes some good points that still apply in today’s situation. It takes a lot of work, but many public schools are managing to work with autistic children in mainstream classrooms.
8) Blue Lights aren’t the miracle cure for autism. But I’m gonna light it up anyway.
9) Families are opening up their lives to Hopkins researchers seeking the causes of autism, even before birth. When Ginny Russo goes into labor sometime at the end of May, her first call will be to her doctor. Her second: to the researchers who want to collect her baby’s placenta, umbilical cord blood and first dirty diaper. They’re part of the same crew that, during the course of her pregnancy, came to Russo’s Carroll County, Md., home to vacuum (and take what got sucked up with them), collect dust samples and poke their noses inside her cabinets and closets, making note of cleaning supplies, hair products and other chemicals on hand.
10) World Autism Awareness Day A real family’s celebration.