Autism Awareness

By Mike Cravens, CEO, Sitters.com

I attended a charity event this past Saturday evening called “Black, White, and Candlelight” and the purpose of the event was to raise autism awareness and to raise money for two charities.

The first organization is called Autism Speaks and they are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of autism. The second organization is The Arc of Loudoun. They are a local charity that focuses on securing the full range of human and civil rights for persons with intellectual disabilities and related developmental disabilities. They help families in our area with education, housing, vocation and healthcare.

Sitters.com was one of the proud sponsors of the event and I’m really happy we decided to help with these charities. Having been a part of planning several events myself, I know that many people don’t realize how much time and effort it takes to pull off a successful event, especially a charity event! The organizers are usually volunteers who work a lot of hours with little thanks. The organizers did a great job of educating the attendees about autism and raising money. They provided a great dinner, an impressive list of silent auction items, and for the energetic folks – a DJ and dance floor. The event was held at and sponsored by The Golf Club at Lansdowne. They provided great food, service, and plenty of indoor and outdoor space for everyone. And the Professional Staff – from the Membership Director to the Director of Golf – worked to make this event extraordinary.

One of the presenters talked about her autistic son. Since autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others, her son has had problems with making friends. It was a very touching story and I could see the pain she feels as she described her son, now 22, having a great desire to make friends – and yet failing time and time again. What’s even more touching is her dedication to autism research. Sure, her son has autism and she’s handling that. But what I love is that she literally changed her life and career to focus on finding solutions.

I thought I knew what autism is before attending this event. After listening to the presentations, I quickly realized that I am pretty much in the dark when it comes to autism. I was shocked to find out that 1 in every 150 children (and 1 in 94 boys) are diagnosed with autism and that more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined. And, although autism has become more prevalent over the past few years, it receives less than five percent of research funding allocated towards childhood diseases. Wow! These are charities that are really making a difference!

This event was top-notch and even though the event sold out this year (pretty impressive for the first year), hopefully the event can grow even larger next year.

Visit the following sites for more information about autism. These resources provide education on autism, support, and opportunities to get involved.
Autism Speaks
Autism Society of America
Autism Research Institute
AutismOne
Generation Rescue

Please feel free to post your comments below and share other resources.

Comments

[AGDIL]

super night to be sure.
Mike is quite a dancer as well!
Everyone really had a great night.
Well organized, and smoothly run.

Word is the event generated ~ $30K for Autism
Excellent!

[Laura Jaskier]

GREAT JOB ! WE ARE IN NEED OF MORE CARING PEOPLE LIKE YOU!I BELIEVE IN CAPABILTIES NOT DISABILTIES
FRIEND LAURA

[amy]

There is a great hour on autism this sunday night on dateline.