April is Autism Awareness Month

So April is right around the corner and that means it's time to promote Autism Awareness Month! Believe it or not, the CDC didn't even have an estimate until last year as to how many people in the U.S. actually had autism. The number they came up with was pretty staggering. The CDC currently estimates that one adult (someone 18 or over) out of every 45 in the U.S. has some form of autism. At the time of the study, that meant about 5.4 million Americans were somewhere on the spectrum.

So what does it mean to be "on the spectrum?" There were originally five levels of autism going from the lowest (1) to the most severe (5). At the bottom were people considered high functioning, but who may have problems with social cues or even a diagnosis of Asperger's or something similar. As the levels increase in number, so does the severity of the symptoms. At the highest levels, autism is more intellectually disabling. If you've ever known someone or had a family member with autism, they always fall somewhere within this spectrum. There was a change in the standard diagnosis that took place around 2013 though and people are usually not evaluated using this method anymore. Now, anyone diagnosed with autism is simply given a diagnosis of "Autism Spectrum Disorder" or ASD.

Part of promoting Autism Awareness is bringing attention to the various programs and support that is available for those that are interested. In Tennessee, we have a wonderful program that our son was involved with called the Mosaic Program. Started in 2008, it's goal is to help students who are on the spectrum attain degrees from some of our local universities. The students are accompanied by other volunteer college students and receive mentoring and guidance along the way on how to deal with social situations and things like their work-life balance, homework, note taking, etc. It's really a beautiful program and if anyone is in the Tennessee area and knows someone they think would benefit, I strongly recommend you check it out. Here is a link https://www.chattanoogaautismcenter.org/higher-education

As you've probably guessed by now, we feel pretty strongly about Autism Awareness month here at Escondido Bracelets and we wanted to do something that would allow those who know someone or have a family member on the spectrum to show their support through the month of April and beyond. That's why we designed our very own Autism Awareness charm and bracelet! We hope you'll join us in showing your support for this very important month and to support the people in your life who have been diagnosed with ASD.

So, that's it for this blog! We hope everyone's year is starting out great and, as always, keep checking back here for more updates and information about Escondido Bracelets! Have a great upcoming Autism Awareness Month and we hope you support this great cause - Escondido Bracelets