Autism 1

AUTISM

by (Name)

Course

Professor

University

City and State

Date
 Autism 2

TO:
FROM:
DATE: December 5, 2020
SUBJECT: Autism Awareness
Autism is a relatively a lifetime neurodevelopmental syndrome that affects one in eighty
children. It affects how people communicate and interact with others (Onaolapo and Onaolapo,
2017, 15). Each individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is distinct, and it has its gifts,
strengths, weaknesses, and support needs. Early acknowledgment is required for the early
implementation of multidisciplinary treatment to improve the outcome. In this regard, enhanced
public awareness is necessary to avert delays in the delivery of such services. Enhanced
awareness can be of great significance in assisting to minimize the probable social stigma
associated with ASD. However, this issue has received limited study, but this information is
necessary for adequate planning regarding autism awareness and education campaigns. The
essence of this paper is to explore the cognizance of autism spectrum syndrome to help in early
acknowledgment and intervention to bring hope to people with autism.
Strengths
Educating the public regarding ASD has increased autism awareness, thus making it the
epicenter of large-scale initiatives and laws that have led to colossal autism charity organization
in the United States and the UK. A lot of money has been channeled on autism awareness
campaigns through World Autism Awareness Month (April) and the World Autism Awareness
Day being institutionalized (Alsehemi, Abousaadah, Sairafi, and Jan 2017). Indeed, the
formation of international campaigns and legislation have amplified the efforts to educate the
public, something that has significantly reduced the misconceptions towards the disability. In the
US, the establishment of the Autism Act of 2006 has been influential in providing culturally
competent information about such disabilities in addition to evidence-based interventions for
persons and their families through the community, state, and federal programs. Additionally, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established Excellence Centers, an Act
that has made it compulsory the formation of an ongoing teaching curriculum.
Weaknesses
It is difficult to ascertain the global prevalence of ASD due to limited international
epidemiological researches. Thus, ASD is most likely to be underdiagnosed in some parts of the
world hence causing some people to go undetected and untreated. Quite often, the figures used
by scientists in global estimation the predominance of ASD is about 1% of the worldwide
population (Onaolapo, and Onaolapo, 2017, 17). The challenge of early detection, as well as the
intervention of ASD, has been intensified by scarce professionals, which includes inadequate
treatment and diagnostic resources. The medication for people diagnosed with ASD is typically
administered throughout an individual's life; hence the cost can be unbearable, particularly for
parents with meager resources.
Opportunities
It is vital to accept autistic children the way they are and incorporate natural approaches into
therapeutic and educational techniques. The world should embrace people with autism as equal
 Autism 3

with other people through campaigns such as the Light it up, a blue campaign to raise awareness
about autism. Accordingly, such initiatives help to integrate autistic children and people into
society.
Threats
Making friends is a significant challenge for both young people, and kids with autism are more
likely to have insufficient or even no friends at all in comparison to typically developing kids.
Research has established that more than 40% of parents and their children with autism do not
have friends (Onaolapo and Onaolapo, 2017, 19). Consequently, law rates of friendship make it
difficult a major cause of bullying at school; thus, children with high functioning autism are three
to four times likely to be bullied compared to a typically developing child.
Conclusion
The increase in government, familial, professional, and public awareness about ASD worldwide,
improves awareness regarding the need and cultural intervention relevancy to reduce stigma.
Hence, there is a need to increase the availability of resources for diagnosing and treatment of
ASD.
Yours
Sincerely
Signature
Name
 Autism 4

References

Alsehemi, M.A., Abousaadah, M.M., Sairafi, R.A. and Jan, M.M., 2017. Public awareness of

autism spectrum disorder. Neurosciences, 22(3), p.213.

Onaolapo, A.Y. and Onaolapo, O.J., 2017. Global data on Autism spectrum disorders

prevalence: A review of facts, fallacies and limitations. Universal Journal of Clinical

Medicine, 5(2), pp.14-23.