April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day by Ms. Kayla Ortese

Since 2007, April 2^nd has been a day set aside and celebrated yearly worldwide to raise awareness about autism. “World Autism Awareness Day is important because it helps to increase awareness and understanding that will ultimately help support children, adults and their families effectively. It is also an opportunity to highlight autism as a priority area for practitioners, clinicians, local authorities and to encourage the government to allocate more resources to this condition. We at C.A.D.E.T Academy light up Autism on the 12^th April.

When people hear about Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), what comes to their minds?

Psalms 127:3 tells us that “children are a gift from the Lord, they are real blessings.” Being aware of Autism is one thing, the month of April is the time to really know and learn about Autism, the challenges, the joy of making a difference in a child’s or an adult’s life, the struggles to help improve living conditions.

ASDs is a general term for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction or relationship, verbal and non-verbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. ASDs range from mild to severe. (Mary Jane Weiss & Valbona Demiri, 2011).

ASDs manifest in different in different ways. For example, some children/individuals with autism are not interested in social interaction, others could be more affectionate, yet some others may not be able to use speech to communicate. Most children on the spectrum show signs of nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and these imbalances affect their communication, cognitive development and social skills.

It is estimated that about 75 percent of children with autism have developmental delays. Therefore, their development tends to be slow or unlike typical children with clear strengths and weakness evident. Behavioral difficulties are common, occurring in about 90 percent of children/adults with autism. At least 10 to 20 percent of people with autism exhibit severe behaviors such aggression, and self injury (Lovaas, 1981, Smith, McAdam, & Napolitano, 2001).

In Nigeria and other less developed African societies, the statistics are not very reliable. However, a recent report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in the United States, 1 in 68 children has an ASD. This newest report is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of all 8-year-old children in 11 states: Alabama, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Utah and New Jersey.

The CDC report estimates that 1 in 42 boys has autism, that is 4 - 5 times as many as girls which is estimated at 1 in 189. According to Coleen Boyle, the director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, the report is not designed to say why more children are being diagnosed with autism. She believes that increased awareness in identifying and diagnosing children contributes to the higher numbers.

At the C.A.D.E.T Academy, we stress the importance of recognizing the signs of autism and seeking early intervention services. Recent research confirms that appropriate diagnosis can determine whether a child has autism as young as one year. Research has also shown that early diagnosis and behavioral intervention improves learning, diet and nutritional support, communication and social interaction in young children with ASDs. Very importantly, the LOVE that comes from parents, caregivers and the community to children can make significant improvements and overcome the challenges that autism presents to families.

One of the most important things you can do as a parent or caregiver is to learn the early signs of autism and become familiar with the typical developmental milestones that your child should be reaching.

The following abnormal developmental “red flags” may show that a child is at risk for ASD. Don’t hesitate in asking your pediatrician for a thorough assessment.

a)      Loss of speech, lack of social interaction.

b)      No meaningful, two word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months.

c)      Lack of non-verbal behavior like pointing, waving, reaching, by 12 months.

d)     No facial expressions like smiling or other warm joyful expressions by six months or thereafter.

At the C.A.D.E.T Academy, we have resources for families, and schools whose children/students have recently been diagnosed with autism.

How can you work together with us?

♥ Support and empathize with parents whose children have been diagnosed with ASDs.

♥ Advocate the rights of such children and families.

♥ Support programs to help provide consultation and job-embedded staff development that helps build capacity among general education teachers for meeting the needs of diverse learners in their content classes (Zigmond, 2007).