A wonderful World Autism Awareness Day
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 3:24PM
The rain held off and the sun came out as BASE and Bermuda's autism community marked World Autism Awareness Day with a special ceremony on the steps of City Hall.
Reading from the official United Nations proclamation, Premier Paula Cox said that autism around the world is growing and affects as many as 1 in 150 people with a child is diagnosed with autism every 20 minutes. She said the economic impact of the lifelong disorder was “enormous” in terms of care and treatment, with the bulk of costs coming in adulthood.
She said: “The aims for World Autism Awareness Day are to inform the general public about the global health crisis of autism, stress the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention, and to celebrate the unique talents and qualities of individuals with autism.”
BASE consultant Susannah Cole said that WAAD and Autism Awareness Month were an opportunity to “deepen our understanding and acceptance of autism and to celebrate the hard work and dedication of families and professionals who support individuals with autism spectrum disorders”.
She said: “Autism awareness stories in the media largely focus on children with autism, but people with autism are children, teenagers, adults, men, women, scientists, engineers and the unemployed. People with autism have their unique sets of strengths and weaknesses, and they also have incredible potential."
The lunchtime audience was entertained by some fine performances from the talented students of Prospect Primary School [pictured above] featuring their choir, male chorale group and a puppet show.
Reader Comments (1)
(Dale) People with autism have their unique sets of strengths and weaknesses, and they also have incredible potential-V-Yeah watch uk