Beginning Autism Awareness

At least three out of every 1,000 children are born with autism; and yet there is not a great deal known about these autistic children by society at large beyond the continued portrayal of our children as being alternately idiot-savants (like Raymond in the movie Rain Man) or verbally incoherent, barely being able to make animal-like grunts. Parents with autistic children know that both of these classic stereotypes are very far from the truth.

Sadly, these stereotypes often hamper the treatment and care that children with autism receive in the community. Therefore, it is important that the general public be educated about autism or else negative connotations and Hollywood-constructed archetypes will continue to be the norm, not the exception.

As such, tired and exhausted though you may be from the day-to-day grind of raising your autistic child, it is still important that we all act to make sure that people understand our children in order for them to have better lives.

Most people are not ready to run a year-round, sophisticated, public relations campaign in order to make our town and city peers aware of what we face every day. However, Congress set aside April as Autism Awareness Month. Therefore, as you seek to increase the quality of life for you and your child, there are some specific steps that you can take to help raise awareness one month per year.

• Write letters to the editor: Most cities and towns have local or alternative newspapers and are receptive to having their local constituents write letters about topics of their own choosing. During April, or any time throughout the year, get as many of your friends and family to write in giving basic facts about autism. At least one of them could get printed.

• Seek City/Town Council recognition: This actually takes a little bit of planning, but is still pretty easy to do. Call the city clerk’s office in March and tell them that National Autism Awareness Month is coming up in April and that you and a few other parents in the community would like the city (or town) council to draw up a proclamation detailing a few facts (which you are happy to provide) about autism.

• Have a booth at a local event: Most localities have some sort of farmer’s market or fair these days. Ask the general manager of the market about having a booth for a couple of Saturdays so that you can provide information to the general public about autism. Bring a table, a chair, and some literature to pass out to the people going by. This is also a nice way to meet others in your community who may be affected by autism in some way.

These are the most basic principles to public awareness and advocacy. It is important that the general public understand what autism is and how it relates to our children in particular. Don’t expect that stereotypes and opinions will change overnight; we know that’s not how it works, but that’s not a reason to minimize the potential your own personal public awareness campaign might have. All you have to do is touch one person, change one person’s view of autism to have made a positive impact with your awareness campaign. After all, you never know who that one person might be.