April is National Autism Awareness Month. National Autism Awareness Month (NAAM)was established in 1972 by the Autism Society of America to help promote awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorders. The Autism Society of America (ASA) is gearing up for this year’s NAAM working with over 200 chapters across the United States.
- Discover Magazine’s April issue will feature a cover story on autism.
- Autism will be featured in articles in Reader’s Digest, People, and Working Mother magazines.
- The ASA has launched a “Hometown Heroes” campaign honoring first responders who help keep our families safe.
- ASA’s Board of Directors will be meeting with members of Congress on March 23, 2007. This meeting is dubbed “A Day On The Hill” and will be used to ask for fiscal year 2008 appropriations.
More information about events sponsored by the national ASA can be found in their press release. In addition to the national efforts, local chapters will also be hosting events. Find your local ASA Chapter.
I have been mentioning Asperger Syndrome a bit these days as my son goes through the evaluation process but haven’t officially listed Asperger Syndrome as part of my mutterings. After discussing his quirks with family as well as the psychologist I suspect that he will be diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome but I don’t want to put the horse before the cart, so-to-speak.
So what is Asperger Syndrome (AS)? Asperger Syndrome is part of the autism spectrum and resides in the DSM-IV under the diagnostic code of 299.80. One of the main differences between Asperger Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders is in the communication realm. Children with Asperger syndrome develop language at an age-appropriate level; it is their use of the language that sometimes differs from neurotypical children. Often-times you will see a child with Asperger Syndrome called a “little professor”. They will be a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge but usually only about a narrow subject matter; for example dinosaurs. A child with AS may know every fact known to man about dinosaurs and will gladly share that with you whether or not you show interest in the topic.
As with other Autism Spectrum Disorders, children with Asperger Syndrome do have social deficits. Some children may not show social or emotional reciprocity while others have a difficult time making and keeping friends even though they may want to have friends. Social skills training can be very beneficial for children with AS.
The OASIS website is a fantastic resource for all things relating to Asperger Syndrome. You could spend hours on their website and not read everything. I have found it quite helpful in trying to figure out what’s going on with my son. I won’t know anything definitely for a few weeks as we’re still going through testing and evaluation but I’m definitely curious to see how this all turns out.
