Stand Up For Autism

This is my first year participating in the Stand Up for Autism committee. I have never been to an event before, but I've seen the footage and am looking forward to listening to these funny guys and Roger Schultz from the biggest loser! This week, however, the phrase "stand up for autism" became real to me in a new way.

A friend at work approached me because she thinks that a child she knows has autism and she is afraid of mentioning it to the mother, a good friend of hers. I encouraged her to read from my binder of autism info to see if it confirmed her feelings or not. She came back saying how much she had learned from the reading and that she truly believes that this child has autism and has not been diagnosed. She is afraid of what her friend will say though, so I shared with her the story of the amazing angel that brought it to my attention that my son needed to be tested. I told her that of course immediately I felt angry that she could think anything was wrong with my precious child. Even as a physician, I still didn't know enough about Autism to see the signs. I was too close to step back and really observe my child's unusual play patterns, as most parents are. The more I learned, the more I recognized those patterns in my child. I told my friend that the lady who suggested I get my son tested, also never let me bury my head in the sand and kept after me to get him tested. I found lots of excuses to put off the tests at first! Now that my son is getting the therapy and interventions he needs, he has a chance to improve his future. A future that wouldn't have been possible without that wonderful lady who had enough courage to tell me what she saw in my son that I had been blind to.

Educate - Don't miss the signs!!! Don't rely on physicians to catch the signs, a well child exam relies heavily on the parents to bring problems to the doctor's attention. Children don't always talk a lot at the visits and the doctor may assume the child is shy and if the parent doesn't think anything is wrong at home, then the doctor will not usually question further.

Advocate - Don't be afraid to "stand up for autism"! We are those children's voices. Be strong and courageous. The autism won't go away if we don't talk about it. We can't ignore it any longer!

Love - Don't forget to appreciate the small victories. Our "auties" have so much love to give and are so much fun.

AUTISM- educate, advocate, and love is where we start so that we can finally get some answers on what causes autism and how to stop it.