Today is World Autism Awareness Day. It’s a day for autism advocates — parents, researchers, health care professionals, everyone who loves someone on the autism spectrum — to move into the spotlight.
Why is this day important? This article from the website Autism Speaks explains it well: 10 Reasons You Should Light It Up Blue.
It’s about supporting research, encouraging legislative reform on autism issues, and doing whatever you can to help the more than 70 million individuals worldwide who have been diagnosed with autism.
It’s about understanding the causes and the everyday challenges confronting parents of children on the autism spectrum.
In addition, April is Autism Awareness Month. So, even if you are just now learning about Autism Awareness Day, you have the rest of this month to show your support. How can you do that? Wear blue. Share an autism-related post on social media. Here’s another post from Autism Speaks that covers this very topic: 5 Ways You Can Light It Up Blue.
You could also read and share the work of some of the many dads who write about life with autism. Here are just a few:
- Stuart Duncan, Autism from a Father’s Point of View.
- The anonymous writer at Autism Daddy.
- The anonymous writer at ASD Dad.
- Joe Harris at Another Autism Dad.
- Ken Siri at Big Daddy Autism.
- Dan Olawski at My Songbird Sings the Truth.
- Yuji at Hanabi Boy.
- Carl Young at Why Not Fathers?
- Carl Bainbridge at a Parent’s Perspective.
- Rob Gorski at Lost and Tired.
Give them a read. And for a spot-on parents’ perspective on the definition of awareness and what today means, check out this post by Chrissy Kelly from Life with Greyson + Parker.
