Autism Has Touched My Life... And The Lives Of So Many Others

There's so much to say about this topic, that it ventured beyond the bounds of "a sentence or two" and into a lengthy summary about my passionate search to educate myself about Autism.

When I was in college, tossing about various life-goals and career paths, I thought I wanted to work with Autistic children. They intrigued me so, and my heart ached for them -- trapped in their tiny little bodies and silent worlds.

I even chose "Autism" as the theme of many of my reports, while pursuing my degree in Psychology at Indiana University.

I didn't get hired by the National Autism Association when I applied for the job in 1990, but my desire to learn more and know more about this terrible disease has never waned.

Autistic Kids Tell Their Stories As Adults

To this day, I find myself becoming more and more intrigued with Autism and what's going on in the minds of those who are Autistic. Our little 4-year-old niece Shelby was recently diagnosed as Autistic, so we are "indirectly" learning a lot from Jim's side of the family about it at the moment.

Most recently, Elouise shared with me a book written by an Autistic woman who was eventually able to start talking and communicating -- to the extent that she has since graduated high school and college. Today, she is gifted animal scientist who has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the U.S. (The book: Thinking In Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (Here is Chapter 1 as posted on her website.)

I am SO interested in hearing about the ordeals that Autistic children have gone through -- when they are finally able to share their experiences with the world (usually as adults). I cannot WAIT until little Shelby can tell her story... I'll be the first in line for YOUR book, Shelby!

Autism Is Being Talked About Everywhere

Then, there's the fact that Autism itself is becoming more and more mainstream. I can't count the number of times I hear of another report on TV or another family in the news dealing with Autism. In fact, NBC recently ran a week-long series called "Autism: The Hidden Epidemic", and included in-depth coverage on a number of local affiliate stations.

We were able to share our $.02 about Autism with Jim's parents when we informed them that there are now Autism bracelets available to:
a) show your support of the research and treatment of Autism by wearing it on your wrist; and
b) make a small contribution toward Autism research with each bracelet you buy.

These bracelets are INEXPENSIVE... roughly $2 - $4 each. They're very durable. And, the best part: They serve to open others' eyes about Autism in general.

To assure that every penny goes to finding a cure for Autism, you'll want to get your Autism bracelet from the National Autism Association (NAA) directly.

If you'd like to be tre chic with your jewelry in support of Autism, consider this fashionable silver bracelet with the signature "puzzle piece" -- which has become the universal symbol for Autism.

An Interesting Sidenote...

It has become so "trendy" these days to wear one (or more!) different colored bracelets in support of one cause or another. When did it become fashionable to wear your support on your wrist?... The day Lance Armstrong started selling yellow rubberized bracelets imprinted with the phrase: "Live Strong" -- all in support of Cancer research.

In fact, we heard Lance Armstrong on The Jim Rome Show recently talking about his Live Strong bracelets. He said something along the lines of this: Nike approached him with the idea of selling 5 million little bracelets at $1 apiece in order to raise $5 million for cancer research. He thought they'd only manage to sell about 300,000 of them, and the rest would be used as rubber bands that they'd flick at each other. In fact, they sold all 5 million very quickly and printed another 25 million -- resulting in 30 million LiveStrong bracelets in circulation.

From there, the idea caught on quickly and other charities began jumping on board with similar bracelets.

Autism Resources

• Have you become more aware of Autism in recent months or years? Wondering what's behind the rise in Autism cases lately? Check out this online survey by MSNBC... Respondents like you and me tend to think: "It's due to a combination of factors." Followed by: "Childhood exposure to mercury or other toxins."
• Watch for even MORE news and information about Autism to enlighten us in the very near future... April is officially "Autism Awareness Month".
• Cure Autism Now (CAN) is an organization of parents, clinicians and leading scientists committed to accelerating the pace of biomedical research in autism through raising money for research projects, education and outreach.
• Round-the-clock coverage of Autism, including up-to-date daily news feeds.
• And, near and dear to my heart... a way to follow the progress of one who is Autistic through a daily blog. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back and Walking With Alec each follow the day-to-day life happenings of an Autistic child.
• Finally... companies like Microsoft and Home Depot are changing their health care policies for their employers to better assist those with autistic children.