For the longest time I always thought of the month of April as the beginning of spring or "April showers bring May flowers". It was not until my adopted Aunt who I now consider my little sister that my ideas began to change. When Kourtney got diagnosed with Autism, April quickly became a month to celebrate the qualities that distinguished her from everybody else.

For those of you that do not know what Autism is I would love to be able to fill you in.

Autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a mental condition that impacts the nervous system. The signs typically appear during childhood and affect a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. There is no known single cause of Autism, but increased awareness and early diagnosis leads to significantly improved outcomes.

In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control released a study showing that 1 in every 68 births in the United States are born with Autism. Which is nearly twice as great as the rate in 2004 of 1 in 125. Estimating about $90 billion annually in costs for Autism.

ASD is known as a spectrum condition that affects individuals with varying degrees. These can be broken into 5 different categories:

Behavioral:

inappropriate social interaction, poor eye contact, compulsive behavior, impulsivity, repetitive movements, or self-harm

Developmental:

learning disabilities, difficulty with communication, speech delay

Psychological:

unaware of others' emotions or depression, difficulty with social interaction

Common:

anxiety, changes in voice, sensitivity to sound, obsessive interests

If the word spectrum is kind of scary here is a quick picture to help out:

Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than girls are. In 2016, 1 in every 54 boy births were diagnosed with Autism. A recent study done in the US and Switzerland suggests that girls have a higher tolerance for genetic mutations and therefore require a larger number of them than boys to reach the threshold of a developmental disorder. For instance, a girl with the same genetic mutations as boy could present no signs of ASD while a boy would. Due to this, when girls are diagnosed with ASD they tend to fall on the more severe end of the spectrum.

Each person you meet with Autism is different. Unique. As the saying goes, "If you've met one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism."

While a lot people struggle with this disability, it is most important to realize that they are different not less than others.

Unconditional Love, Acceptance, and Understanding