Sunday, January 29, 2012

Speaking of Autism...

Have you ever noticed that when people hear you have a child with Autism their first response is always the same? I have a (insert random person related to them only by five marriages) who is Autistic.

Really? You know someone who has Autism? What all do you know about Autism? Oh, you don't know what it is you just know that they have it?

Yup, that's the normal conversation, and it annoys the living crap out of me! Pediatric AIDS, Leukemia, and Diabetes combined have a less frequent occurrence than Autism, but most people can tell you about at least one place to go for treatment for any of those disorders.

Right now there are people sitting in D.C. lobbying for money for all sorts of childhood disorders, but Autism is mostly overlooked. Why? Because Autism doesn't have a face. There is no "Autistic look" or anything that gives Autism away until you actually see a child, and know why they are "acting strange."

This week there will be a great group of Autism Warrior Moms and Dads who will be going to D.C. to lobby for a bill. H.R. 2288, Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act (CMKAA). Right now funding is restricted for  the children of Active Duty members, and is denied for anyone who is Retired, or has been discharged as a Wounded Warrior. Autism Speaks will be sending a representative to talk to our lawmakers, and my wife prepared a video for Autism Speaks to present.

Right now there is a petition online that I really want people to sign. As I post this we need 23,994 more signatures in the next 24 hours to show Congress that we mean business. People all over the U.S. came together to stop SOPA and PIPA, lets come together to show our children that we do care, and lets make our politicians listen to us when we say that we need to cover our children!

The petition is located here

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