If I had $20,000 and 6 months of my time, I would donate my time to an Autism Charity. Working with a lot of patients that have autism, I get to see close hand what toll it takes not only on the child but on the family as well. Sometimes the most frustrating thing for the parents, is getting their child diagnosed with autism due to the fact that it is on a spectrum and can have several different characteristics.Once they have a diagnosis, it is easier for the parent(s) to seek out treatment for their child. Sometimes a child is diagnosed with behavior issues initially or ADD/ADHD. Autism-society.org defines autism as "a spectrum disorder, although defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults with autism can exhibit any combination of these behaviors in any degree or severity. Two children with the exact same diagnosis can act completely different from one another, and have varying capabilities." In December 2009, autism had risen to 1 out of every 110 births and almost 1 in 70 males. Approx 1.5 million american with the cost of care for a child being 3.5 million to 5 million. The Autism Society of America is raising money to increase awareness and help families who are affected by autism. They help the family not only financially, but it gives them support to turn to when they dont know what to do or just need someone to talk to. With early diagnosis of this disorder, there can be a better outcome.
I Think this is a good cause. I work in retail (Finish Line shoe store) and I see a lot of parents with autistic children and something as easy as picking out shoes can take up to a half hour if not longer with an autistic child picking out the shoes. Its pretty remarkable how much patience and love for their child they have to have to cope with that sort of situation.
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