{"id":8521,"date":"2025-05-06T06:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T10:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8521"},"modified":"2025-05-05T11:01:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T15:01:22","slug":"autism-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8521","title":{"rendered":"Autism Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ladhanya Balamurugan ’28
\nEE\u00a0<\/em>Staff Writer
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

April was Autism Awareness Month, and today we will talk about its history. It all started in 1963 when autism was still such a mysterious disorder that very few understood.\u00a0 That is when the National Autistic Society came into play. This organization brought more clarity to the condition. <\/span><\/p>\n

They chose the symbol of a puzzle piece to represent their organization, which was designed to illustrate the differences in communication, social interactions, and behaviors of those with autism. However this puzzle piece could subtly implicate something being missing and not whole, especially looking at the parents perspective and the struggle they have when trying to connect with their kids. <\/span><\/p>\n

A new organization called The Autism Society of America sprouted and Bernard Rimland, Ruth C. Sullivan and other parents of children with autism founded it. It created more public awareness about autism and addresses all the daily challenges that autistic individuals and their families face each day. <\/span><\/p>\n

They helped create National Autistic Children\u2019s Week. Yes, before Autism Awareness Month, it was just Autistic Children\u2019s Week. The reason why it was in April was that Rimland wanted it to coincide with his son Mark\u2019s birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, having it in April represents a time for new beginnings and growth. It was later announced to be Autism Awareness Month since it broadens public understanding and advocates for the rights of individuals who have autism and promotes system change for schools. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was officially called National Autism Awareness Month in the United States in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan issued the first official presidential proclamation marking the occasion. The reason why many people wear blue to support autistic individuals is because of the \u201cLight It Up Blue\u201d campaign, where Autism Speaks, an organization, encouraged iconic landmarks, buildings, homes, and communities worldwide to light up blue. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now that you know the history, let me introduce you to how to support autistic individuals worldwide: <\/span><\/p>\n

Firstly, join more autism awareness events. There are many events at libraries, parks, and more where you can get educated about autistic people. Talk respectfully to all autistic people instead of making fun of them. When your autistic friends come, make sure to be aware that loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, and certain textures can be overwhelming or painful for some autistic individuals. <\/span>Include autistic kids in your activities and encourage them to hang out with you! <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ladhanya Balamurugan ’28 EE\u00a0Staff Writer April was Autism Awareness Month, and today we will talk about its history. It all started in 1963 when autism was still such a mysterious disorder that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":8526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8521"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8525,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8521\/revisions\/8525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}