World Autism Awareness Day: Understanding the condition
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:31Vaguely familiar with the condition? You’re not alone. There’s still a long way to go before society fully understands autism and the people who suffer from the disorder.
Famous landmarks around the world will light up and turn blue to mark World Autism Awareness Day which falls on 2 April every year. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that makes itself obvious during the first three years of life. It results from a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, mostly affecting children and adults in many countries irrespective of gender, race or socio-economic status. It is characterized by impairments in social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted, repetitive behaviour, interests and activities.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) changed the classification of autism 15 years ago, from a disease to a disorder. According to WHO, the disorder is characterised by difficulties in social interaction, communication and a restricted and repetitive repertoire of interests and activities, across a wide spectrum of manifestations and severity.
Since the discovery of the condition over 70 years ago, awareness of autism has continued to grow and the stigma associated with the disorder has since lessened. While fundraisers, social media posts and lighting up buildings in blue have helped to increase awareness of the plight, much more needs to be done before those suffering from the disability can fully participate in society as normal individuals.
Karen George
