Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness month, so I'm starting a month early on raising awareness.  I am fortunate enough to be around people who have Autism, everyday.  There are people in my professional life and personal life that have been diagnosed with many types of Autism.

Did you know that Autism affects 1 in every 110 children?
Did you know that Autism affects 1 in every 70 boys?

So what exactly is Autism you ask?  Well,  Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (aka ASD) are general terms used for disorders of brain development.  There are many types of Autism and each case is different. The identified types are Autistic Disorder, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder-not otherwise specified and Aspergers Syndrome. Some things you might see from a person with Autism are difficulty interacting socially, delayed language skills or non verbal communication and repetitive behaviors.  You might also see that people with Autism can have problems with motor coordination, attention, intellectual development and even physical health issues. They also often excel in things like math, art, visual skills and music!

To get involved or to find out more information about autism go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/.