Autism awareness

Last night, just by chance while flicking the remote around, I found a documentary on autism. It involved a young boy, maybe 11 or 12, with a severe case of autism. The documentary travels with the family as they try to find out more about autism and what they can do to unlock their son, Keli, from his world of non communication. My heart broke for this family, to watch the struggles and see the parent's faces. The boy is adorable and I believe rather intelligent. I realized two sad facts from this presentation: 1-there are programs, really good programs out there for children with autism just not readily available to everyone and 2-there is not enough funding for research in autism. The family travelled to California where it seems there are plenty of programs. I found some very interesting points from the show and the work they are doing in CA. One on one work with these children is the only effective way to break through to them. You must start early. You should sit on the right side of the child when working with him. It was amazing to see these children able to communicate. They are transformed from non verbal misdiagnosed children to communicators. One young man was so brilliant he won 4th place in a google contest with stocks. His rate of return was something like 24% on the stocks that he managed. Amazing. And the doctors tell these parents to put them in institutions when they are born because they will never succeed. These children with aspergers are the genuises of the future. There was also a family in CA with three boys with autism and twin girls typical development. I found it disturbing to see the mother feeding the boys junk food with chemicals and processed food, and soda with sugar and caffeine. Maybe its me but I believe there is a connection between healthy, organic food and the way a child learns. Another interesting topic which was covered was the children who are born verbal and then for some reason at around 3 years of age suddenly regress. Why? Environmental? Vaccinations? No one knows. And unfortunately we might not know for a long time because of the fact that research is not funded the way research for breast cancer and alzheimers is funded. Adults have these diseases and working adults can support the research. However, because autism affects children whose parents are simply trying to cope with the hand they have been dealt and can't really donate to find a cure. That is why autism awareness is so important. A cure needs to be found - immediately. Im not saying stop researching cancer but these children are our future. Let's get them healthy so they can find a cure for cancer. Some of the brightest minds are locked up right now by autism. Let's open them up. If you get the chance, try and watch this documentary. It tops American Idol - anytime.