The Face of Autism

It didn't seem right to put this in with my scarf.

I believe this subject deserves a post all of it's own.

Sunday, October 14 is the Autism walk at Jones Beach. I'm participating in it along with the family of this little lady. I've known her since she was about 4. She turns 16 in October. I've seen her go from a non-verbal, hand flapping, rocking, little girl, to one who comes running down the stairs when she hears my voice to say, "Hi Angela, how are you?" She is a joy and a heartache all at the same time.

Facts about Autism

Did you know…
1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism.
1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum.
67 children are diagnosed per day.
A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes.
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined.
Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade.

Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases. Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.

There is no medical detection or cure for autism

I am sorry if this is a bit of a downer, but I truly feel this is an important issue. Before I met B, I had never heard of autism. Now, I am hearing of more and more families who have a child and in some cases more than one child in their families that are diagnosed with some form of autism. The sad thing is, depending on the severity, not all marriages make it thorough this.

Please check out the link below for more information.

Something must be done to prevent, cure, and help these families.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/

Thank you.