Today marks World Autism Awareness Day with the occasion aiming to put a spotlight on the struggles and hurdles people with autism face every day.
Every year multiple organisations recognise the day in order to help spread awareness and inclusivity of people with autism. Ideas.org says that the event is a great way for people to gain knowledge about autism.
“As a growing global health issue owing to its increasing exposure in the press and common knowledge, autism is an issue that is only gaining more understanding and WAAD activities are planned every year to further increase and develop world knowledge of children and adults who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD),” they said.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is caused by differences in the brain. It suggests that people may have difficulty learning, moving, or paying attention while also lacking essential communication skills.
According to the Australian government approximately one in 150 Australians are affected by autism with boys four times more likely to have it than girls. The Child Mind Institute says that the prevalence of autism in girls may be lower because of a lack of data on autistic girls.
“[Girls] often go undiagnosed because they don’t fit autism stereotypes and they mask symptoms better than boys do,” they said.
Usually, autism is discovered in the toddler years however in some cases it’s during infancy or at a much older age. There are three main types of autism spectrum disorder including autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder.
Others can include Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and Kanner’s syndrome. This year’s UN observance of World Autism Awareness Day will be focused on inclusive education with the UN saying that it’s “the key to the transformative promise of the Sustainable Development Goals, to LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND”.
