Autism Awareness: The Time Is Now
As the frequency of autism diagnoses continues to increase, more and more people will find themselves in public facilities, such as churches or schools, having to interact with individuals who are on the autistic spectrum. Recent cases reveal a widespread lack of understanding about this devastating disorder which must be addressed to prevent autistic individuals and their families from being marginalized.

I recently attended a play with some friends. As we waited for the show to begin, I became aware of rhythmic "whooping" sounds emanating from the seats closer to the front of the stage. The whooping continued, sounding like something a toddler might do, but the voice making the sounds was deeper and more mature than that, more like an adolescent boy’s voice. When the lights dimmed and the music began, the whooping crescendoed momentarily, echoing off the walls of the small, acoustically perfect theater and then fell silent. I hoped that the whooping would not interfere with our being able to hear the show, but accepted the disturbance as something we might just have to live with for the duration, for this was not just any show.

Had this been any other production, there would most likely have been dirty looks thrown in the direction of the offending "whooper", requests from neighboring audience members to escort the whooper from the theater, perhaps even complaints to ushers or theater managers. This was not, however, just any play: this was a free performance of Stacey Dinner-Levin’s play, Autistic License, a poignant, intense, and sadly funny look at the realities of raising an autistic child.

As the character of the mother in the play chronicled her experiences, one had only to look around the audience to see heads nodding in perfect understanding of the mother’s anguish; empathetic smiles at shared moments of unexpected levity; tears furtively rolling down cheeks as the parents, family members, and friends of children living with this baffling and devastating condition watched their own experiences and heartaches unfold on the stage before them and realized "At last, someone understands."
No, there were no dirty looks or complaints about the "whooper" from this audience: he was welcomed there, his behaviors were understood, his brave parents were supported in their desire for their family to be a part of that very special experience together.

The world outside that theater, however, is not always supportive or welcoming for families dealing with their child’s autism. In fact, from some of the stories making headlines recently, from five-year-olds being "voted" out of their classes to families being barred from attending church services, it would appear that the lack of understanding about autism and the resultant intolerance that lack can cause are on the rise. As if raising an autistic child is not challenging enough in and of itself, many parents of autistic children find themselves being made targets for doing everything they can to include their children in as normal a family life as possible. These parents want their children to be able to attend plays, to participate in their faith communities, to be accepted and included in their children’s schools. Sadly, such acceptance and support are not always available.

Consider the case of Carol Race of Bertha, Minnesota. Race is the mother of a severely autistic thirteen-year-old boy, Adam. In May, the pastor at her church obtained a restraining order to prevent the Race family from bringing their son to services at the church, alleging that because of his size (six feet tall, 225 pounds) he poses a danger to the rest of the congregation. Race violated the order and brought Adam to mass anyway, and is now pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor for doing so. The case has been all over local newspapers, sparking an intense debate about what the rights and responsibilities are of both the church and other public facilities, and of the parents of autistic children.

The responses supporting the church’s decision to ban Adam from services have been unsettling, to say the least, and quite revealing of the sad level of ignorance that parents of autistic children still have to endure from the world around them. One reader of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote, "It appears that…Race had one excuse after another for her child’s behavior, minimizing his dangerous acts. Granted he is autistic, but that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to do things just because it has a calming effect." Clearly, this reader knows nothing about some of the more significant traits exhibited by autistic children, nor of the many coping mechanisms they and their families must employ every day of their lives simply in order to function.

According to the Autism Society of America (ASA), children with autism may display a huge spectrum of unusual behaviors, such as "repetitive motor mannerisms"; "aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior"; "laughing and/or crying for no apparent reason"; "tantrums"; and "noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity". Those are just a handful from a long list of behaviors seen in autistic children, and for those children, those behaviors are not optional, nor are they behaviors that their parents "allow" them to do. Those behaviors are part and parcel of this bewildering diagnosis, and they are part and parcel of the children who suffer from it. Their parents can no more separate those behaviors from their children’s lives than they can wish away the diagnosis of autism.

It is understandable that for people who are unfamiliar with what autism looks like, those types of behaviors can be irritating, disgusting, annoying, and yes, sometimes even frightening, especially as children grow and mature into full-sized adult bodies. But does that mean that it is acceptable to expect parents to sequester their autistic children, or to allow churches, or museums, or stores, or restaurants, or whatever public facility next enters this fray, to insist that parents not bring their children to participate?

There are currently an estimated "1.5 million Americans living with the effects of autism spectrum disorder", and it is a problem that is only expected to increase in the years to come. The ASA states that "autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year…[the] prevalence could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade."

Clearly, the public’s ignorance, especially in light of the expected growth in the number of new autism diagnoses, cannot be allowed to continue unaddressed. Churches, schools, theaters, playgrounds, gyms, libraries, and any other public facility imaginable will have to, at some time, contend with these children and their families. Autism is not going away. The families struggling to create some sense of a normal existence for themselves and their children must not be made to feel unwelcome. Families of all kinds, including those with children fighting to find their place in this world, are stronger when they pray together, when they play together, when they are active and involved members of their communities. We must all remind ourselves that these families are already dealing with their child’s devastating condition; should we respond to their need for our support with ignorance, intolerance, and restraining orders?

At the end of Autistic License, the playwrite and her husband, who had played the role of their autistic son, came onstage to take questions and comments from those attending the play. Over and over, people raised their hands to thank Ms. Dinner-Levin for speaking so bravely about her experiences. Through it all, the whooper whooped intermittently. There were no dirty looks, no whispered comments of irritation or frustration, only the support and empathy of a small, determined community of people within the theater that afternoon who understood all too well what it meant for that family to have their son whoop his way through the play with his parents right beside him.

It was a small community of support that afternoon, but the autistic community is one that is growing, and the support of the larger community must grow right along with it.
http://awarenessofdiseases.blogspot.com/
source:wikipedia