Autism is taking over the world in April 2009.
WAAD (World Autism Awareness Day) was proclaimed 2nd April annually, which started in 2008.
The Autism World had this to say:
So what has happened since WAAD 2008 Internationally?
Autism became a political ball game internationally. US elect Barack Obama took action , the Government in the UK took action, and one have to ask why? Would it be to gain votes or is it because reality has set in that Autism Spectrum Disorder is currently affecting 67 Million world wide?
What did parents have to say?
Jeanette ODonnell mother of 6 children of which 5 on the Autism Spectrum said:
We will see families struggling for services and education. We will see Jenny McCarthy, yet again, telling us about her knowledge about Autism and “curing”, “recovering”, “almost curing” her son….maybe she will make up her mind this time. She will go head-to-head with prominent doctors about vaccines and Autism…now that will be worth watching.
We will see Larry King massacre the pronunciation of Autism…
We will see families with multiple children saying how difficult their lives are by having so many children with Autism. We will see meltdowns and temper tantrums. We will see tears flowing from the faces of parent’s who envisioned a better future for their children.What we won’t see is children and adults with Autism actually thriving in our communities. You won’t see that there are children getting better and thriving every day. You won’t see promotions for amazing programs out there that are seeing results from Sensory Integration Therapies and Play Therapies.
You won’t see children with Autism who can go to school, sit quietly and respectfully in a classroom, because they have been inclusioned since 5 years old. You won’t see parent’s who have worked hard with their children and not allowed inappropriate behaviors in public….Instead, we are going to be subjected to the “gloom and doom” bias of Autism. The Autism that requires a parent to slap a tee shirt on their child and blame their Autism for their behaviors. It is much easier not to parent that way. We are going to get to see mothers and fathers crying about the child they were supposed to have, instead of the glory of the child who is sitting right in front of them.
I think I will celebrate WORLD AUTISM DAY in our home. I will remind my children to be on their best behaviors today…because the WORLD is watching them. I will let them know they are the most wonderful, amazing children in the WORLD and I am so very proud to be their Mother.
Are we missing the point of World Autism Day? Big hype with no action means nothing.
The South African Government up to date has not acknowledged WAAD in any way. Individual private organisations for profit jumps at the opportunity to claim that they recover even state that they cure Autism. These organisations usually target families of newly diagnosed vulnerable families making false promises of recovery to improve their bottom line.
Please understand with appropriate intervention in an multi-disciplinary team dynamic, consisting of a toolbox of acknowledged therapies and interventions most children’s developmental ability will improve significantly .
It leaves me with the burning question? How to participate in World Autism Awareness Day 2 April 2009? What would you do to make a meaningful difference?
Claire says:
Not sure what is more scary, the fact that there are currently 67 million people effected by ASD or that after all these years our government is still not providing adequate services, schools, adult homes etc. What number do we need to reach in order to gain suffice assistance? If you ask the parent of a child with Autism, they will tell you, you just need 1 as the number. With Aids, Cancer, Diabetes etc. by no means do I feel Autism ranks higher in priorities. I think it’s a case of not shifting the lime light with governments but expanding that same light.
26th February 2009 at 1:56 pm