Cause of the Week - Autism Speaks

Time to Listen

For many things in this country, 1 in 150 are pretty good odds.  They're the kind of odds anyone hoping to win a prize or reach a goal would love to have. However, when using those odds to describe the number of children who are diagnosed with autism, the odds become dark and terrifying.  There is a new case of autism every 20 minutes, and those numbers hit close to home for me especially, since my two oldest boys have autism.  The world we live in is one of constant struggle--to connect, to bring joy, to find peace.  Families all over the country are finding themselves thrown into this epidemic, with no where to go for help.  Even thought there is no cure, getting early intervention with the right intensive therapies and biomedical treatments, these children have a good chance at leading a functioning--even normal--life.  The problem is that these treatments and therapies cost thousands upon thousands of dollars, and in most cases they are not covered by insurance.  Those states that do offer financial assistance usually put the children on waiting lists, and the families sit on the list watching that magic window of early intervention pass them by, and along with it their precious child's future.  It's a heartbreaking fact for the majority of autism families.

Autism Speaks, now the largest autism organization in the U.S., is here to help.  Their mission is to "change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders", and they further this mission by being dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder. 

This mission is a daunting task, but one that is vital to this Country and it's citizens.  Looking at the autism statistics, it's simply no longer an option to pretend like this disorder will be going away any time soon.  If you have concerns about your child, you aren't alone, and you can go here (quick register/log in process) to watch Autism Speaks' video glossary comparing typical children to children on the autistic spectrum.  You can also go here for helpful FAQ's, and go here to take a quiz about the early warning signs  (for example: a child should use and understand about 50 words by age two...my son had 2 words by age 2...but don't panic, if you sit down and wrote down every word your 2 year old knows it's likely way more than you realize) .  Maybe you will see your child in there somewhere, and get some motivation to seek help and intervention.  Maybe you will see your friend's child or your neighbor's child, and be able to offer some support and understanding. It's also important to note that sometimes there are no early signs. Sometimes the child is developing normally until something triggers the autism.  As you can imagine, every little bit of awareness matters in this fight, and we need every kind of supporter.  You can also go here to donate to Autism Speaks, and further the amazing work they are doing. 

One of the big news-makers for Autism Speaks lately has been the band Five For Fighting, who've set up a website called What Kind of World Do You Want.  There they encourage people to submit home made videos for their list of charities, one being Autism Speaks, and they will donate $1 for each viewing (to a certain limit).  Go here to see one of the most poignant videos, which has over 2 million views so far. 

Like the video says, we'd like one day for our children to read about autism in history books.  Let history start now. 

-Arianne