April is Autism Awareness Month, and every year on April 2, the world takes part in “Light it Up Blue.” Major world landmarks, businesses, institutions, communities and individuals mark the day by turning blue.
They do so to continue to inform the world about the fact that autism is a growing global health crisis. Autism affects over 3 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide–and the numbers continue to grow. According to government data, prevalence rates have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years.
Here, at home in the U.S., according to the Autism Speaks website, “1 in 68 American children is on the autism spectrum–a ten-fold increase in prevalence in 40 years. Careful research shows that this increase is only partly explained by improved diagnosis and awareness. Studies also show that autism is four to five times more common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States.”
GOOD Morning Wilton is honored to do our part to shine a light on autism by turning our website blue. We hope to raise awareness about the activities in our community that honor those with autism, promote kindness and inclusion, and help raise money to support awareness and autism research.
In addition, we’ll be covering the effort at Wilton’s Town Hall tonight, which will be lit up in blue light as part of the Parents’ Advisory Board‘s town wide efforts to encourage understanding of children with special needs and to celebrate the power of inclusion and kindness.
We’ve also added a button at the top of our website for today, as an easy way to donate to Autism Speaks–just by clicking on it, you’ll be redirected to the AS website.
One other Wilton business has pledged to take part in the effort–Little Pub Wilton will be donating 10 percent of the day’s proceeds on Tuesday, April 7. (Little Pub Ridgefield will do the same thing today, April 2, and Little Pub Greenwich on April 14.)
In addition to dining at one of the Little Pub locations on those days, what else can you do? Consider wearing blue today, and tell anyone you meet some of the facts about autism. Pledge to teach your children about compassion and inclusion for all people and that it’s the differences each one of us has that makes us unique.