April is Autism Awareness Month, so I would like to focus my April posts more about Autism. I hope to be able to give some insight into the 3 core deficits of autism, which include social interaction, language, and repetitive behaviors.
As many of you know, the way that Autism is diagnosed is undergoing some changes. It may be as early as next month when the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) will change to the DSM-5.
Here's the thing about the diagnosis changes, I am more concerned about your child as an individual. What are his/her strengths? Where is he/she struggling? Regardless of whether he/she has a diagnosis of autism, I want to look at what we can do to strengthen those areas of concern. So even though the criteria I am going to be discussing is going to be outdated next month, I'm still going to try to look at those areas of deficit and put them into terms we all can understand.
I will start those posts later this week.
Here's some other random info:
My Community Ed class that I am teaching in Sandy, Utah begins tomorrow. You can go to register.playwithjoy.com or you can just show up and we can take care of registration before class begins. It is at 6:30 pm, April 2 at the CTEC (825 East 9085 South)
Tomorrow begins LIGHT IT UP BLUE. If you don't know what that is, check out www.lightitupblue.org. They also have banners and logos you can download to add to your facebook or twitter accounts. Light it up blue is the kickoff to Autism Awareness Month around the world. It's pretty awesome how the world comes together to help spread the word about autism. Check out the amazing photos including The Great Pyramids, The Sydney Opera House, and many more amazing places around the world.
April 11, 2013 is the Annual Autism Council of Utah Meeting. Everyone is invited to attend. It will be at 9:00 am at the Capitol.
