Awareness of autism is the precursor; acceptance is the goal
It is currently estimated that 1 in 36 children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. In the year 2000, that estimate was 1 in 150, indicating that prevalence and/or identification of autism has soared in this century alone. There are many other facts about ASD that readers may or may not be familiar with: for instance, that boys are 4 times more likely than girls to receive an ASD diagnosis, and that autism is reported in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. These facts do indeed spread autism awareness, which is what the month of April used to encompass. In recent years, however, April has shifted to representing something that sounds similar, but is quite different: Autism Acceptance Month. Read on for details about this change and what you can do to support it.
