(this is an archive story, refer to following byline for author name)
By Robbie Hill
While there are other months throughout the year dedicated to different causes, April is devoted to Autism Awareness Month, Autism is a spectrum condition that affects the brain. Although this disorder affects everyone differently, it can make an impact on social interactions, senses, emotions, and more. Unfortunately, people have seen Autism as a way of lessening the people of their strengths, but since 2005, Autism Speaks has worked valiantly to prove them wrong.
Autism Speaks is an organization that advocates for people with Autism. Together, they help spread awareness on condition, as well sponsoring the research on Autism. Every year within the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, Autism Speaks hosts a 5K (3 mile) “walk” as a way to support people with Autism. This is the largest event fundraiser that Autism Speaks hosts. While there is no registration fee, it is always encouraged for people to visit the vendors within the vicinity of the event. Portions of the proceeds made within these vendors are given to Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks brings in millions of dollars annually to support people with Autism. They use this money to increase childhood testing (testing children for Autism at a young age), programs that help people with Autism transition into adulthood with ease, better the fundamentals of research, and increase overall awareness. They allow families to utilize their programs that help their children being diagnosed with Autism before the age of two, which is crucial.
People in today’s society think less of people who have Autism, but there are plenty of people who proved them wrong.
Daryl Hannah, famous actress known for roles in Blade Runner and Steel Magnolias is open with their autistic traits. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition much similar to Autism, she told the truth about what it was like having the condition from a young age to her current life so she could spread awareness of it. Since then, she has continued to act while taking on a role as an environmentalist.
People would be surprised to know that Dan Aykroyd, famous for his role as Ray Stantz in the movie Ghostbusters, has been open about his life with his Autistic traits. Although he was diagnosed with Asperger’s not long before the 1984 Ghostbusters premier, he experienced many symptoms throughout his life prior to his diagnosis, even to the extent of him being expelled from two schools at a young age. He never realized the fact that he would make a major impact in the film industry.
Courtney Love, singer and known for her marriage to the late Nirvana star, Kurt Cobain, revealed in a 1994 interview that she was diagnosed with mild Autism as a child. She admitted that she never spoke. At age three, she started attending psychiatric therapy to help her. Since then, she has “bloomed” as she quoted, and went on to succeed in the music industry.
Since Autism’s first introduction in 1943, the world has grown to accept the condition as the years went on. Although society continues to see the less in others on the spectrum, there are plenty of influential figures who easily prove them wrong. Advocacy has grown significantly, and awareness has slowly, but surely been reaching the minds of others who may not understand what it is like to have Autism.