Blog # 2 Autism Does Matter

Hi, this is Chhievling again from my blog #1, "Autism Matters"! As I had mentioned in my first blog I adore kids, so this is why I had chose to research about autism and on how it have affected children and adults. Here is a quick summary of my first blog, but feel free to click on the link and check it out for yourself!

In my first blog, I had mentioned a lot about the struggles of people living with autism and what they have to go through everyday. There's quite a majority of children and even adults with autism who can not do things independently. They need the extra help, and there is nothing wrong with that. Although, the issue with that is, they are not treated the same in society. Children living with autism need the extra support, a plan that will work for them. Autistic children would learn more efficiently if they have a specialize learning plan just for them. Schools all over the states should hire more teachers who are specialize in teaching kids with autism. As I had researched, there are organizations and schools out there who help support autism, but that does not mean there are enough throughout the states. Yes, 1% of U.S children are diagnosed with autism, a ¨small" percentage, but that does not mean it should not be looked at and be taken into consideration. That 1% could be your best friend, sister, brother, relatives, son, daughter, etc. These children need our help, they are our future, such as teachers, doctors, and veterinarians. We need schools to be more open with the idea of extra help and specialized learning plans for kids who are struggling because of autism. If they get their base foundation built in education, and get the help that they deserves, they will certainly achieve many goals. The children are going to feel better and not feel like they're alone and hopeless. Most of all they will start to believe in themselves and work harder to achieve anything they want. One positive outcome will be their motivation to overcome their disabilities, to be able to do things as any other people.

Since my last research, I did find out a bit more about autism. I knew that there were different kinds of autism, but in this research I found out exactly what they were as shown at, "What Type of Autism is it? Identifying Six Main Types." There are six main type of autism, Autistic Disorder, which ranges mild to severe symptoms, it is a developmental disorders causing the child to lack in communication and connection with others. Another is Regressive Autistic Spectrum Disorder which is a form of autism, where a child of 18 - 24 (1 - 2 years old) start to regress. This occurs in 20% - 30% in children diagnosed with autism. On the other hand, Pervasive Developmental Disorder is when a child show that he/she have some autistic traits but are not enough to be categorize under autistic diagnosis. While, Asperger Syndrome is a mild type of autism, a child with asperger are fine with language skills, but struggles in social skills. Another form of autism is Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, which is a very rare case of autism that occurs in children ages 2 - 4, where they lose their language, social, motor, and other skills. Last but not least is Rett Syndrome, it is similar to Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and is also rare, but the only difference is that Rett Syndrome only occurs in girls. Those are new information I found since my last research.

I did many research online, but for my original research I had interviewed Ian Say, my peer from advisory, who also happens to be diagnosed with Asperger Autism. Be sure to check out the questions and answers from the interview! After interviewing Ian, I did hear some similar stuff to what I had found out through researching online about Asperger. He is doing alright in school work, but his downfall would be socializing and understanding the feeling of another person. The difference about the interview was being able to hear from an autistic themselves, on how life is living with autism. Ian had actually said to me, "You know there is no cure or treatment, right? It's something you have to live with." Even though I knew it was something people diagnosed with autism have to live with, hearing that was actually like a hit of reality. Imagine living with something you have to work around, fight against mentally, overcome everyday of your life, wouldn't that be hard? As tough as it is, the part that gets you most is knowing the fact that there is no cure, at least not now.

I feel that autism must've affected many people and families emotionally and mentally. After all the researching and interview, it's more clear to me now that autism is more than the fact of struggling to live a normal independent life, but is the lifestyle that they have to live with. Autism is more than what it is said to be, a disability, the struggle to understand, or to communicate, but what matters is that it had affected many innocent children and adults lives. It is not in their control on whether or not they are diagnosed with it, it's not their fault that they are not able to live independently. That is why they need our support and love and letting them know it is okay to be different. Starting from education, giving kids with autism the right care, education, and support, I believe they will be as successful as any other kids out there. Also, adults with autism have a harder time finding a job compared to other adults who don't. This topic was also addressed in a CNN Health article, either way I think of that as discrimination. People should not be denied from a job because of their disabilities. They should be given a chance, a little time to get the hang of things, society today need to slow down, because there are important people that's left behind.

I am more passionate than ever on researching and finding out more about autism. Although, I still wonder if there was ever a case with autism where the person was no longer affected by it, and had overcome it. I also wonder if doctors are closer to finding a cure for autism, especially with the medical and technological advancement of today. I believe that there is always a solution to a problem. Finding a cure to autism someday would be life changing, but for now we got to take our time to listen to and understand the people with autism in order to help them. Remember, autism is not only a disease or a developmental disorder as many of us come to see, because it's the lifestyle of many.

Now, I have been talking a lot about autism, but what is it that I am actually going to do about it? For my agent of change I am planning to volunteer and help out at a daycare, taking care of children diagnosed with autism. If I ever get the chance to do so, I would be more than grateful to volunteer, because as I said children are a soft spot in my heart. Also, I am thinking about doing a bake sale in order to raise money for an organization that supports autism. All the money I raised will go to that organization which will help families affected by autism. Like the saying, don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk. Be sure to catch me on my 3rd blog, so until then say cupcake and hold the cheese!

This picture is from Williamsburgfamilies.com. I chose this picture because it shows a creative way of representing autism.

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