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Options & Advocacy Press Release April – Autism Awareness Month
Options & Advocacy of McHenry County is urging people during April – Autism Awareness Month – to consider taking a little time to know their neighbor, child’s friend, or family member who has this diagnosis.
Recognize their beautiful uniqueness and be a support to them and their family members – be it for an hour or just a few minutes. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability. Signs of ASD typically appear in early childhood and affect a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the prevalence of autism has risen to 1 in 68 births in the United States. In Options & Advocacy’s Autism Support Program, we have served over 480 McHenry County and young adults since the program began in 2011.
We see very young children; school aged kids and adults who have an autism spectrum diagnosis. They are wonderfully unique and have many abilities as well as support needs. At Options & Advocacy, we know that children and adults do not exist independently. We all have families and communities.
Our Autism Support Program, which is funded by the McHenry County Mental Health Board, provides education about the diagnosis, educational and individual advocacy as well as community education and support groups.
We celebrate the children and adults that we serve and recognize that we have a long way to go to develop the services and supports that are needed. This is especially true for adults who have an autism diagnosis.