Actress Jenny McCarthy has put a national face on autism. Many children and their families struggle with autism. But how many families struggle with autism or variations of autism spectrum disorders? Why do rates appear to have increased so rapidly in the past 20 years? How do you know if your child has a form of autism? Does your pediatrician or family doctor know the common symptoms?

A Salem, Oregon family has struggled with autism. Linda Lee’s son Tiger began showing signs of autism as an infant and their family struggled with his behaviors, including self-injury, screaming and inability to sleep, before getting a diagnosis at age two. Despite the fact that Linda was an ER nurse with over 20 years experience, she did not have the training to enable her to recognize her son’s autism. As is often said, out of struggle comes learning. Linda co- founded Help Autism Now Society (HANS) in 2002 and has worked since then to educate doctors, teachers and families about autism, its affect and proper diagnosis. Many pediatricians didn’t have strong informational resources for diagnosing autism so HANS developed materials including an Autism Physician Handbook with over 100 illustrations of the “behavioral symptoms” to enable physicians to more easily diagnose autism. Earlier diagnosis results in Early Intervention which studies have shown to improve the child’s outcome.

Linda’s older son struggled with his autistic brother’s behavior. The isolation and constant family turmoil was upsetting. Linda took that experience as an opportunity to teach others about the affects of autism. Linda has diligently worked collaboratively with medical and educational experts to develop informational materials to support medical, educational and other care providers. Linda wrote, “Autism: Living With My Brother Tiger,” through her older son’s eyes, as a way to educate families about the affects of autism. The book is available at HANS’ website and is a powerful educational tool. Here is an excerpt from the book that shows the family trauma and isolation that can happen in a family with an autistic child:

“We used to have friends and new people over for dinner often, but Tiger did not like other people. He would rush to the front door and shove on their legs to get them back out the door, then slam it in their face. We stopped having people over to dinner.”

SMCF is proud to have been able to partner with Linda on the distribution of over 2,000 of these books to educational staff in Salem/Keizer elementary and pre-schools, both public and private. The book has helped not only siblings, but also staff to understand the affected child and the family dynamics involved with autism. The book can be read in its entirety online.

For more information about HANS visit their website at: http://www.helpautismnow.com/. If you or someone you know may have a child with autism, there are a number of resources available. HANS’ website includes a number of informational materials: brochures, posters, videos and books. Another great resource is the CDC. Here’s a link to the CDC’s web resources on autism spectrum disorders: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/freematerials.html

The Autism Society’s website is another great repository of information for parents, teachers and other community members. Visit their site at:
http://www.autismsociety.org/site/PageServer.

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Let’s use this opportunity to educate our friends, teachers and other childrens’ advocates about autism to minimize the disruption to families, and minimize the turmoil for undiagnosed children.