Today, April 2, is the Second Annual World Autism Awareness Day, as declared by the United Nations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that autism affects one in 150 children, and CNN/Health has produced a roundup of events, changes and milestones over the past 365 days, summarizing such major issues as:
-- while no cure has yet been found, some progress is being made
-- there is new research
-- some major court decisions have affected the field
They spend time outlining the following areas:
Are autism rates going up?
What are the environmental factors?
And how to afford therapies?
Here's the full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/02/autism.update/index.html
Events happen throughout the day. Here's a schedule, with links to press coverage around the world:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/world_autism_awareness_day.php
TELL US
Are you dealing with autism in your family? What were your personal milestones over the last year?