WHAT IS AUTISM?

You may be curious as to what is autism and why we are raising awareness. Our triplet sons Zachary, Hunter and Nicholas have autism. For this reason alone, we will continue to help raise awareness so that others can see they too are not alone.

Autism is a complex neuro-biological disorder which affects all areas of development; mainly communication, social skills and self-help skills. There are various thoughts and no explainations as too what causes autism. Every case of autism is unique and should be treated differently thus making it hard to create a road map that "everyone" could follow. This does cause frustration in families whose child is newly diagnosed, they are left to their own device and due dilligence to learn as much as possible about this disorder. Sometimes making costly mistakes and spending a lot of money on therapies that may or may not have a positive impact on their child.

Each child's autism can manifest itself in various forms including the most common forms self-stimulation (stimming) and echolalia. Self-stimulation (stimming) is when a child continously ratchets, twirls or spins an object repeatedly thus gaining some sensory gratification in the repeated motion. Echolalia is the act of repeating speech thus mimicking the speakers words. Some autistic children may never speak and it's unknown as to why this happens. There is no cure for autism; just intensive intervention. The earlier the child receives intervention, the greater chance for success. We urge all families to seek out intervention services as soon as possible once their child is diagnosed.

Autism is classified as a pervasive development disorder or PDD. Also, autism is recognized as a spectrum disorder (ASD) meaning the characterstics can vary greatly depending on the severity of the disorder. No two children are alike on the spectrum and it is difficult on the outside to tell that a child has autism.

Statistics have shown that boys are 4 times more likely to have autism then girls and 1 out of 150 children today are being diagnosed by age 8. The circle of autistic families grows by 1 every 20 minutes. There are currently 500,000 children on the spectrum. The numbers continue to rise. The divorce rate amongst parents with autism is around 80 - 85%.

Many families worry about the future and who will take care of their loved one after they pass. They look towards other family members and people with whom they entrust to carry-on their life's work. Some children with autism can live independently It all depends on the severity of the disorder.

Autism changes the way you look at other children with special needs, it changes the way we look at each other, it turns typical parents into educational advocates and raises a weary eye towards various "proven" medical intervention.

But, make no mistake about it, autism changes the lives of the families who contend with it every day.

Autism changes lives forever. It sure changed ours.

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