1 in 68

April is Autism Awareness month. Spread awareness, donate your time, and participate in a local event that supports Autism research. I was in the process of writing this post when the CDC came out and announced their new statistics…

1 in 68 children have ASD…

I’m speechless… And my heart breaks for children and families that are affected by Autism.

I have to be honest. I feel like Autism is worse then cancer. There is no cure for Autism. And what is being done about it? It is worth a conversation and it needs to be addressed. Too many children are being diagnosed and it’s not because the population is growing. What is going on?

Autism affects the whole family and not just the individual diagnosed. Please help spread awareness. Please share, discuss, and spread the word of this epidemic.

What is Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)?

Autism is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders. Characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Autistic disorder, sometimes called autism or classical ASD, is the most severe form of ASD, while other conditions along the spectrum include a milder form known as Asperger syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that 1 out of 88 1 and 68 children will have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (Centers for Disease Control, March 30, 2012 March 2014). And males are four times more likely to have an ASD than females.

What are some common signs & symptoms of ASD?
ASD varies widely in severity and symptoms.

• No babbling or pointing by age 1
• No single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
• No response to name
• Loss of language or social skills
• Poor eye contact
• Excessive lining up of toys or objects
• No smiling or social responsiveness.
• Regression of already learned skills
• Lack of showing, sharing interest or enjoyment
• Unusual prosody/pitch of vocalizations
• Repetitive movements or posturing of body
(Wetherby and Woods (2003) esi.fsu.edu)

If someone you love has any of these signs or symptoms make an appointment with your doctor to discuss immediately.

***Disclosure: I am not a doctor and am not making any claims to be an ASD expert. This post was written to give readers information on ASD and build ASD Awareness.