Autism is Officially a Nationwide Epidemic

Autism is a widely misunderstood condition. There is no cure, and many families suffer alone due to lack of awareness. Diagnosis of autism is on the rise; in fact, the diagnosis is up 23 percent. It is now said that 1 out of every 88 children is diagnosed with a form of Autism. Many of these children, and their families, are suffering because they are not getting the services or treatment they need.

Autism is rated on a scale between High-Functioning Autism, Asperger's Syndrome and Low Functioning Autism. Many children are will be diagnosed as PDDNOS (Persuasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). This places them on a scale somewhere between high and low functioning, but not fitting in to a specific category.

Researchers are not sure why there has been such a large increase in the number of children diagnosed with Autism. It is thought that better testing has helped identify children with autism. Still, many people and schools do not help children with autism, probably because they do not fully understand the condition.

In Ohio a single mother (who wishes to remain anonymous) struggles every day to get by. He son Josh was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2008. She is going to school while raising three kids on her own. She shared some of her struggles, explaining that most people do not take her sons condition seriously. Many schools refuse to give her son the help he needs. Once school refused help on the basis that, "He does not look like he has Autism." In the end Josh faced suspension after suspension, making matters worse. His mother had to put him in a new school and start all over.

This is one of the biggest problem that families with Autism face. Most people do not realize that autistic individuals look like everyone else. The condition is a brain disorder that disrupts the child's life, and the families. Autism Speaks has started a nationwide campaign in attempts to raise autism awareness. Hopefully they will get the message across so families like Josh's do not have to suffer alone anymore.