April is the month for a variety of awareness days including Autism Awareness. Autism, which is a type of mental disability, affects some people on their ability to communicate normally. According to the CDC, “About one in 44 children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).” Some signs and symptoms of Autism can be a delay in speech, repetition when communicating verbally, and difficulty comprehending others’ emotions.

During this month, we must begin by educating ourselves, as well as others, about Autism. Sometimes, the disability itself can be misunderstood, and so we must refresh our brains by doing our research, being mindful, and educating ourselves about how we should treat those that have Autism. Since people use social media frequently, we can take this to our advantage by spreading knowledge about the disability, including how we should approach autistic individuals.

We also need to understand that autistic individuals often get stereotyped, and we must set aside our judgments so that we may understand them more clearly. Every autistic individual is different from one another; one may have a characteristic that the other person doesn’t. Nevertheless, we should never jump to conclusions easily, or call them names that may be offensive to them, such as “retard” or “stupid.”

Although we should educate ourselves and understand more about Autism, we can also support organizations and fundraisers. Some organizations where people can donate to show their support are The Asperger/Autism Network, The Miracle Project, The Autism Research Institute, and many more. To discover more about charity organizations for Autism, click here.