Today, April 2nd, 2011, in honor of World Autism Awareness Day, my house is lit- blue.
If 4 million children are born in the United States every year, approximately 36,500 children will eventually be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Assuming the prevalence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that about 730,000 individuals between the ages of 0 to 21 have an ASD.
A million thanks and hugs to everyone who participated in Autism Awareness Day today. Our platforms are small, but together our voice is loud and proud. Today, my facebook newsfeed and text messages have been filled with blue t-shirt wearing runners, blue porch lights, status updates about being blue, and even scentsy puzzle piece warmer pictures. It is this type of support that will bring awareness to this disorder and help to increase funding and research. Currently millions of parents like myself fight the insurance companies on a regular basis, because much of the help needed for a child with autism is just not covered.
The lifetime cost for an individual with autism is $3.2 million- $5 million.
Teagan had a good day today...secretly I think he knew it was a day for him, yet he did not lead on of his knowledge. :) It was a good day in our world, despite his spectrum based disorder- Sensory Processing Disorder. The struggle with this disorder is that it is on the autism spectrum but not considered autism- which makes education and help with this challenge- a battle. Also, the cornerstone of SPD is inconsistency...so what Teagan loves and laughs at today could send him into a major melt down tomorrow.
An autism spectrum based disorder is more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined.
There is not a lot known about SPD, but days like today bring awareness to all the spectrum based disorders. I hope that you will spend some time getting to know more about autism based disorders. The statistics are frightening...and if you are reading this you already know at least one family affected by this...and there are millions of families just like the Guire's.
1 in 110 children are now on the autism spectrum. 1 in 110.
Sadly, today, the White House is not blue, but rather dark. Although President Obama had made a proclamation today and stressed the importance of Autism funding in 2009, the White House is not changed today, despite the millions of Americans who still had to deal with autism all day long. Today was not a holiday or a day off, it was just another day in "paradise" for those affected by an autism spectrum disorder. Maybe one day (one day soon) the White House will be blue and openly support individuals who have autism spectrum disorders. President Obama did not join in...his house, our White House, is not blue. It is disheartening to know that this epidemic is not important to EVERYONE, as my child could be your child and my struggle could be yours.
In 20 years there has been more than a 600% increase in diagnosed cases of autism.
Autism is not a Tragedy. Ignorance is the tragedy.
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| Teagan Rey Guire 8-12-08 |
1 comment:
Very nice.
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