Spreading Awareness

I'm making a rare midweek visit to the blog to acknowledge that today is World Autism Awareness Day - and in fact, this month is Autism Awareness Month - so I hope that all of you will take a moment to either learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorders or educate someone else.

1 in 88 American kids - and 1 in 54 boys - has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, including my Owen. My Owen is exceptional in many ways: He is brilliant, funny, creative, witty, and sweet. And he is challenged every day by the fact that his brain works differently than that of the average nine-year-old boy.

We don't yet understand what causes autism and we don't yet have a cure.

If you ask Owen, he'll tell you that he doesn't need a cure, he likes his brain just fine the way it is. But it's important to know that we are the lucky ones. Although Owen struggles, he can basically do everything a typical kid can do. Other kids on the spectrum are not so lucky and they deserve answers.

Autism Speaks has a lot great resources...there's also this amazing thing called Google, but beware of some of the crazy things the Internet might tell you about autism.

Here's the gist of what I know, 7 years post-diagnosis:

• Autism is a brain disorder, which is not the same as a mental disability.
• Vaccines and autism have never been proven to be related. (Please, vaccinate your kids.)
• No two kids with autism are the same.
• Autism might look like that kid rocking and banging his head against the wall and it could also look like that kid who talks incessantly about Pokemon and won't meet your eyes.
• Autism doesn't make a person stupid or smart. 
• Changes in diet can have a positive effect on kids with autism (just like they can have a positive effect on any kid).
• Although there is no cure, autism can be treated with various therapies, such as Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Some insurance companies deny treatment for autism. There are people dedicating their lives to changing that - you can help.
• Autism is complicated and it deserves a lot more research. You can help with that, too.
• People with autism need the compassion and support of their communities to navigate a world designed for neurotypical people - we can all help with that.

Happy World Autism Awareness Day!