Celebrate Autism?

April is Autism Awareness month. This is a very special month for me, because every day is Autism Awareness in our home . I get to celebrate my son this month. CrAzY thought huh? You are probably thinking..."Why would you celebrate the fact that your son has Autism?". I don't celebrate the fact that he is Autistic, I celebrate the accomplishments from year to year, April tends to be the perfect time to do that.

Ethan was diagnosed at 15 months old with Autism. I knew that I was going to have to fight for him. God blessed me with the perfect child and now I had to get him to live in my world not his own. I had support and prayer and I went to battle. We had many sleepless nights, meltdowns (him and me, lol). We had days that I couldn't wait to end, and days that I wish could last forever. We've went three steps forwards just to go backwards five. He will be turning 10 years old in a few months and he has come a very long way. We still have a long road ahead of us. He is one amazing kid. Each day is an accomplishment when we don't have meltdowns or just a bad day. he has taught me so much through this whole thing. I found this poem I am the Child. I love this because it is so true that our children teach us. Please read it if you have a minute.

Facts and Statistics

• 1 percent of the population of children in the U.S. ages 3-17 have an autism spectrum disorder.¹
• Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 110 births.²  (1 in 70 boys)
• 1 to 1.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder.³
• Fastest-growing developmental disability; 1,148% growth rate.⁴
• 10 - 17 % annual growth.⁵
• $60 billion annual cost.⁶
• 60% of costs are in adult services.⁷
• Cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3 with early diagnosis and intervention.⁸
• In 10 years, the annual cost will be $200-400 billion.⁹
• 1 percent of the adult population of the United Kingdom have an autism spectrum disorder.¹⁰
• The cost of autism over the lifespan is 3.2 million dollars per person.¹¹

Some more facts: Autism prevalence figures are growing, More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined, Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases, Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism, and There is no medical detection or cure for autism

These numbers really bother me. I can only hope that someone will hopefully be able to give us some answers one day. When Little Buddy was first diagnosed (about 8 years ago) the number was 1 in 170 children children. WOW! That number has grown tremendously!!! Please pray that they find answers.

I usually get asked do I vaccinate? I am NOT going to tell another mom to not vaccinate their child. But I will spread out my children's vaccines. Little Buddy is all caught up and I will soon start Baby Girl on a vaccine schedule (She has some things going on that I will hopefully write about real soon.). I , personally, am not willingly go into a doctor's office and allow them to inject 2-4 different vaccines into my baby. I don't know if vaccines cause Autism. I personally have never done the research. I have read about Tylenol not being good for your baby while vaccinating. I encourage you to do your own research and decide what works for you family.

If you would like some more info then I would check out the Autism Society website:) Please spread knowledge not ignorance!