Autism Epidemic??

As a new parent, the statistics on autism are startling. I've sure you've seen the commercials of a mother strapping her kid into his car seat stating the chances of a child being in a wreck are 1 in 150,00 and having autism is 1 in 150. It makes me more aware as a parent of my child's behavior, looking out for tendencies in a 9 month old. I guess the ads’ mission is accomplished.

Maybe they did it too well.

The facts are clear as to the increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with autism. The rise is happening for a lot of reasons. One, the autism label is no longer the stereotypical "bangs head into walls" or "unable to relate to social situations”. Its a broad umbrella of labels. Another factor influencing the rise is that parents have found autism label provides children and adults with different services, and in some ways is more socially acceptable than other less "flattering" diagnoses like ADD. Some even say the heightened awareness makes parents and professionals interpret behaviors that are just temporary and part of that age as autism.

Whatever the reason, there is an increase, at the very least in awareness. What really gets under my skin is calling autism an epidemic. That’s a scary word to use. It brings to mind death, tragedy, and suffering. Something to keep those that I love away from. There is no denying the numbers are rising, but this is not the message I believe should be sent out.

I've always felt that disability is a function of our environment. And when our environment, our society, is looking to find a problem, it usually will. Some evidence suggests that this as been some of the case with the rise of autism. Rather than scaring ourselves or focusing on the negatives, we need to inform the public of the needs of people with autism. In my mind, that will change the environment in which people with autism live in and minimizes the effects of the condition. Statistics get our attention, but learning how we can make life better for others changes people’s hearts. The actions we take in fear to protect ourselves keep us from recognizing the solutions we can be a part of. Most folks see the stats, thank God their children are "normal" and go on with life, leaving parents, friends, and professionals and the person with autism responsible. If we don't reach to peoples hearts, show them how they can be involved in the solution, our environment will stay the same, and autism will always remain a disability.