The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control have not taken a proactive approach to spread autism awareness in our country, which would teach parents and parents to be to recognize the early signs of autism, and would promote tolerance and acceptance towards diagnosed individuals. These government agencies have campaigns to promote a stop on teenage bullying for example, or flu shots for children, seniors, or even adults. You may see posts about this at hospitals, and pharmacies, but not a word about autism. The CDC talks a lot about autism on their website, yet not everyone in this country has access to internet. More importantly, the CDC's criteria for determining who is at higher risk is flawed. A change in this is necessary. 

Autism, unlike blindness, hearing and mobile impairments, or even intellectual disabilities, is not obvious. Many children with autism cannot communicate, and have sensory integration disorders, and they crave sameness. A slight change in routine, even changing what side of the car they sit, or what route to take to school, causes a meltdown. When in public, people don't understand why this is happening, and people tend to stare at the child or parent, and often say rude things to parents, including judging their parenting skills. The issue is so serious among affected families that there are t-shirts for sale online saying "I am not misbehaving, I am autistic." If people were more aware of these qualities, it is likely that they would be more tolerant.

The official number of diagnosis right now is 1 in 110 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism. 1 in 70 of this, are boys.* The issue with autism is that it is a spectrum, and individuals with it can be placed at any point in this spectrum. Not two people have the same symptoms or the symptoms at the same degree. Today, autism is usually diagnosed at a minimum of 2 years of age, yet the signs are there earlier than that for those who know the signs and know what to look for.  

Kids with autism don't learn naturally things that other people take for granted, such as giving eye contact when having a conversation. Kids on the spectrum need to be trained to learn these things, and the best window to treat some of the symptoms ends at five years of age, for the brain is more capable to form new connections up to this age. After this, improvements can happen, but not as well. 
There is no cure for autism, but behavioral, speech, and occupational therapy work very well to manage some of its symptoms. There are no drugs or medications specific to autism, but anxiety medication and anti-depressants are common among children and adults who suffer from this as part of their "autism."

Signing this petition is important because it would deliver a letter in your name to HSS Assistant Secretary Richard Sorian, and CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, where we explain why a government sponsored autism awareness campaign is necessary. 

A successful awareness campaign would prevent delays in autism diagnosis, delays in recommended therapies and services, and it would create a more tolerant society, where individuals with autism could thrive.

The idea for this petition was born out of my own experiences as a parent of a child diagnosed with autism. To learn more about our journey, please click here. 

Thank you!

Notes:

* www.cdc.gov

** www.autismspeaks.org