Autism - No Respecter of Class or Status

April 2nd, 2008 is World Autism Awareness Day. As someone whose family is closely affected by this mysterious disorder,I feel that it is only right that I start this awareness now! Autism is a mysterious brain disorder that affects 1 in every 150 children, and 1 in every 94 boys. There is still no known cause of this disorder. The disorder typically appears within the first three years of a child's life and hinders the child's ability to socialize and communicate.

Autism is no respecter of persons. In 2001, my eldest sister gave birth to a charmingly handsome baby boy(Ubong-Jason)... the nurses at the hospital deemed him the 'Most Bautiful Baby of the year'... and I agreed...still agree! Little did we know that the baby that brought us so much joy and laughter would soon be diagnosed with a disorder.... You know, at that time in nigeria nobody really knew anything about Autism... The mother had noticed that her beloved baby was gradually shutting himself in, the baby that used to crawl around the house, dancing to the tune of tv jingles was gently disappearing in character and personality... She said "something is wrong with my baby"... the doctors said it was nothing to worry about, that some children delay in developing social skills. Eventually, Jason lost every bit of social interactions, kept all to himself, couldn't speak, couldn't play with his peers and siblings, couldn't say mommy or daddy, and even when he tries, he pretends the word didn't just come out of him... He gets periodic seizures...it's tough, real tough to raise a child that can not do much for himself, especially in Nigeria, where there is little or no resources available for special kids with disorders.


Toni Braxton

Like I said, it is no respecter of class or status....several celebrities are having to deal with raising their austic kids. In January 2007, Grammy award winning singer, Toni Braxton appeared on ABC's The view to talk about raising her autistic son and to raise awareness to the Cause that is really close to her heart. The singer gave an emotional heart-felt description of what it is like to live with an autistic child... the helplessness she feels; not being able to rescue her child... as she spoke, I could hear my sister's voice speaking through her...http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/136809/toni_braxton_breaks_down_and_cries.html


Jenny McCarthy

Another familiar face dealing with autism is actress and author Jenny McCarthy. This celebrity mom has a son that was diagnosed with the disorder a few years ago. She soon published a book titled: "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism". In the book, she details her son's battle with autism. Jenny also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show along side with tv actress Holly Robinson. The show which focused on creating awareness for this dreadful disorder was themed'Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete—Their Fight to Save Their Autistic Sons'....to watch a clip from the show visit: http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200709/tows_past_20070918.jhtml?promocode=incl20070918TD


Holly Robinson Peete

Several other celebs and everyday people are faced with this disorder..... when the cause is relatively unknown it is hard to even start taking precautions to protect your baby's future... but thank God for Hope.. hopefully with all the awareness that has been brought to autism .... we'll be able to raise enough money for further research to find the cause and the cure for it....

There is a spectrum of autism, therefore, every autistic person is unique, Some people maybe be little autistic or very austic. Some common symptoms associated with autism are:
*Lack of eye contact
*Little or no communication
*Lack of social skills
*Repetitive behavior and lining up items in a ritualistic manner and following routine
*Prefers activities that requires no verbalization
*Episodes of seizures
*Mental Retardation
*ETC.

This is a very serious disorder as it is becoming very rampant. This year alone, over 25000 children will be diagnosed with autism...... please spread the word and donate to the cause if you can.

Treatments:

There is no scientifically proven effective treatment for the disorder but alternative treatments that some parents are getting for their kids can be found here; http://www.autismspeaks.org/whattodo/treatments_non_standard.php

Related links:
http://autismspeaks.org
http://www.autism-society.org
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/31/autism.main/index.html

Thanks for reading....remember knowledge is power!
Don't mind my typos or any errors...haven't yet prove-read it