Autism is something that has interested me for sometime. I come across it on a daily basis at school. It is difficult to watch children who are locked away in their own world and to be oblivious to the one around them.
Autism is the fasted growing disorder and it effects many children. Today 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with Autism or an Autism spectrum disorder compared to 1 in 10,000 in 1970. 1 in 94 children with an autism spectrum disorder are boys. A new case of autism is diagnosed every 20 minutes. There is no medical detection or cure for autism but there are treatments. The cost of treating children with autism is currently 90 billion dollars worldwide annually. That cost is expected to rise to 200-400 billion by 2014. But there is hope, lifelong care can be cut by 2/3 with early diagnosis, care, and intervention, only problem is, there are many insurance companies that do not cover the cost of care.
Autism speaks is an organization dedicated to helping parents and children dealing with autism. Autism effects more children and their families than cancer (1 in 25,000 - 300 million dollars) or muscular dystrophy (1 in 200,000 - 150 million dollars), yet autism only receives 15 million dollars in funding.
Although, autism has not effected my family, it does effect many families and friends. Maybe yours. If you would like to learn more visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/.
The following video is from http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/ . This website was started by John Ondrasik, the lead singer of Five for Fighting. To see more videos from families dealing with autism, visit this website.
The family featured in the video is a friend of by best friends.
The question I pose to you is . . . What kind of world do you want?
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