April is Autism Awareness Month

This is why we need to educate everyone about autism. Please click on this link to see what's happening out there in the jungle, we call our everyday life. It infuriates me to know that situations like this happen, probably more than have come to light. A 5 year old, made to stand in front of his classroom, while each student tells him why they don't like him and then vote him out (of the classroom) survivor style. And the reaction of the school district. The teacher was reassigned. She should have lost her license in my opinion.

You can expect a few more autism articles than usual during the month of April on my blog, because I want to do my part to educate and make others more aware. You might think, why do I need to know about autism? I don't work with kids, or know anyone autistic. But, every time you leave your house and go out into the public realm you come in contact with people on the autism spectrum.

Ever try to stand in line at a fast food restaurant with a non-verbal autistic child? I have, and it isn't easy believe me. Most of the time I order from my car in the drive through and then pick the food up inside, so I can just grab it and go sit down. Give those poor parents cuts in line in front of you. You can help by not staring at them and not ignoring them, be friendly. If the child grabs a fry off your tray as they walk by, don't overreact and cringe or act like you've just been exposed to some kind of plague.

Last year I was out to lunch at McDonald's with my grandson, Michael (he has Asperger's Syndrome) and he stood up on the booth seat and yelled, "Please be quiet, we are trying to eat our lunch over here!". He caught me by surprise and I did my best to get him to sit down and told him the other people weren't really being that loud. We got some looks, and a few laughs. At least he was polite about it. But to Michael, (who has super sensitive hearing), I'm sure it was driving him crazy hearing not only all the people talking, but also noises from the kitchen and the traffic outside the building and lots of other sounds we just filter out and don't even notice. Just knowing about his extra sensitive hearing, I was able to be more understanding and deal with the situation appropriately. Everyone can benefit from being made more aware.

I'd also like to bring your attention to the Autism Speaks web page regarding Autism awareness and fundraising initiatives with various partners, the web page is here. I like to know who supports this "dear to my heart" cause. Toys-R-Us and TJ Max for example. I haven't been to TJ Max in a while, but looks like I will be giving them more business in the future. We gave Toy-R-Us our business at Christmas time last year.