Month of Autism
Autism Awareness Month and what it encompasses
By Jake Snider ([email protected])
The second of April is the designated beginning of Autism Awareness month. The purpose of this month is to spread awareness about the disorder. One of the biggest questions that most people have about the disorder is what is it and what it does to people. Autism is a disability that impacts the nervous system and as a result often impairs communication and social interaction. How does one get diagnosed with Autism? From birth, some scientists suspect that a faulty gene or genes might make a person more likely to develop autism. In addition, factors such as viruses, chemicals, chemical imbalance, or a lack of oxygen at birth could increase the chances.
The Autism Awareness ribbon
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Symptoms can be found at an early age, though after a certain period other symptoms differ from person to person. Some who have mid-range autism may only have few issues such as a learning disability or speech delay, while others who have high-range autism will have more severe behavioral issues. Some of the most common issues may be inappropriate social interaction, poor eye contact, self-harm, or persistent repetition of words or actions. As well as being unaware of others' emotions or depression, anxiety, change in voice, sensitivity to sound, or tic. So because of this, it is often common to see people diagnosed with autism being anti-social and prefering to be by themselves or close to loved ones. There is no cure for the disorder, but treatment at a early age can improve the persons communication and social interaction later in life.
April became the month of Autism awareness in 2011. Throughout the day people wore blue and spread stories about loved ones that they know have some form of autism. The E.S.E. specialist at Plantation High School, Mrs. Dietz was asked several question about the disorder, including how many students at school this year are diagnosed with some form of Autism. “Around 36 students do have it at Plantation.” In addition, she was asked how the country treats autistic people today as compared to how they were treated years ago. She said “I think there is more understanding now then back then, because today we know more about it, like how it works and how it affects people. Also, I think there is more understanding because more people know someone who suffers from it.” Another question that Mrs. Dietz answered was what would she like done to help spread awareness to others. “I would like see more done in Plantation to spread awareness, like how last year the announcements every morning would read out a description of someone famous in history who had Autism. I would like to see that brought back.” The final question that was asked was what the best way is to help people who have this condition. “The best way to help people with autism that I have found is to just help them with what they need and treat them like regular people. Many parents of autistic kids that I have met have stated that one of the main issues is that their children have is that others often treat them like they don’t understand basic things and require help all the time. Though many who have the disorder do require special care, not all autistic people are the same, and because of this, treat those people suffering from the disorder with respect.”
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