Autism Awareness Day Today

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. It was set up by the United Nations in 1989 to raise awareness of the condition.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.

It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.

Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. They have fewer problems with speech but may still have difficulties with understanding and processing language. More information can be found on the National Autistic Society website here: http://www.autism.org.uk/

There are over 500,000 people with autism in the UK – that’s 1 in 100. Together with their families, that’s over two million people whose lives are touched by autism every single day.

Find out more about World Autism Day and the signs and symptoms of the condition here: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/world-autism-awareness-day