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Autism – or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a diagnosis has been with us for a long time yet is still a human condition many don’t truly understand.
It was American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner who first published a paper back in 1943 describing eleven youngsters in his care who were highly intelligent but displayed “a powerful desire for aloneness” and “an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness.” He later named their condition “early infantile autism.”
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These days, the mission for greater support for families living with autism is the focus of April which is globally recognised as Autism Awareness Month. This is when the Autism Society of America urges people to “celebrate differences as it works to build an inclusive society where individuals with autism live fully through connection and acceptance.”
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A popular member of the “mums group” I’m part of once whispered in my ear that my one-year-old son was “a bit too thin”. I almost choked on a French fry before the anxiety kicked in. My son had been weighed plenty of times by his doctor and there were no problems until this “friend” put it in my head that there may be.
Another
mum liked to congratulate the rest in our group loudly when our children hit any of their milestones, as if she were monitoring every step. “Is he talking yet?” she would often ask of my 16-month-old
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