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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Autism Awareness Month |
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| Mohja |
| 04/01/02 at 10:29:49 |
| [i]This is an e-mail i received recently [/i] Dear Friends and Family, Assalam alaikum - I hope this finds you in peace. April is National Autism Awareness Month, so I am writing this email to help spread awareness among my own family and friends. Many of you know about my interest in autism, but many of you might not know that my brother, Omar, is on the autism spectrum. His diagnosis is pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), which is somewhat akin to high-functioning autism. Autism is a developmental disorder, affecting up to 1 in 500 people, by some estimates. Recent research shows that there may be a genetic factor involved in autism, but the cause of autism is still unclear. It affects people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds, although boys are more likely to be affected than girls. Many people have the stereotypic idea of autism as a child sitting in the corner, banging his head on the wall, or a child with savant qualities, someone who could tell you what day of the week March 3, 1865 was (Rainman is definitely not representative of the autism community). In actuality, these stereotypes represent a very small portion of the community with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs - the proper way to refer to the spectrum, although the term autism is generally used to refer to the entire spectrum of disorders). Because autism is a spectrum disorder, individuals with autism exhibit a wide range of abilities. Generally, there are three areas that are affected in people with ASDs: communication, socialization, and behavior. Most children with autism find it difficult to communicate, and many have trouble using oral language. Some do not develop speech at all, while others may be very talkative. Using visuals (pictures, symbols, signs) to communicate is very helpful for many of these children. Individuals with autism also have difficulty navigating the world of social relationships. The subtle nuances of socialization that come naturally to neurotypical people are often very difficult for people with ASDs to perceive, understand, and implement in their own lives. People with autism also tend to have limited interests and some stereotypic behaviors (hand flapping, head banging, etc.). They find it difficult to show interest in a wide range of topics. Children with autism tend to have a fascination with trains, especially Thomas the Tank Engine (anyone who's been to our house knows this is true!). Children with autism look physically "normal" (if there is such a thing as normal), so many people are puzzled when they encounter these children behaving so strangely. This is why it is so crucial to spread awareness, to help people understand that autism is a disability, that these are not just strange children or children who need better discipline. The autism spectrum includes autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Rett's Syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder. The autism awareness ribbon, which some of you have seen on my purse, is composed of red, blue, and yellow interlocking puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces represent the mystery of autism, since there is still much that we do not know, but they also represent the strength that we can gain by joining together to help our children, siblings, students, friends, family members, etc. with autism. The different colors represent the spectrum of autism, symbolizing the diversity found within the autism community. The brightness of the colors symbolizes the hope we have for our children. Thank you for taking the time to read this long email. For more information on autism, email me or call me (my friends know I love to talk about this!). You can look at my webpage for information on PDD: [url]http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~sabrina.zaman/SPED1010.html[/url] Here are some other good links: *The Autism Society of America: [url]http://www.autism-society.org[/url] *The Autism Society of Middle Tennessee (which has been an invaluable resource to me): [url]http://www.autismmidtenn.org[/url] *Ooops...Wrong Planet! Syndrome (this is a personal website, which is very fascinating and full of information): [url]http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/[/url] Please forward this to anyone who might benefit from it. Thank you for helping support my family and me. Sincerely, Sabrina Zaman |
| 04/01/02 at 12:49:08 |
| Mohja |
| Re: Autism Awareness Month |
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| amatullah |
| 04/01/02 at 12:03:35 |
| Bismillah and salam, Jazzakallah Khier for posting this email. Just out of curiosity do you know this lady or for that matter any other muslim ladies who may have children with autism? Also, it sounds as though she welcomes emails, could you pass hers on to me please? I did try to click on the link, but it said the page didn't exist. I have a friend in Austaralia and it would be nice for her to speak to other Muslims who have autistic children. |
| Re: Autism Awareness Month |
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| Mohja |
| 04/01/02 at 12:54:28 |
| [slm] Yes, amatullah. I do know the sister. She's a very nice person and i'm sure she would be more than willing,as per her e-mail, to discuss autism with anyone interested. There was an extra dot in the url for the website, i fixed it. You should be able to access it now. Her e-mail address is at the bottom of the homepage. |
| Re: Autism Awareness Month |
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| Asim |
| 04/02/02 at 00:04:27 |
| Assalaamu alaikum, [quote]Children with autism look physically "normal" (if there is such a thing as normal), so many people are puzzled when they encounter these children behaving so strangely. This is why it is so crucial to spread awareness, to help people understand that autism is a disability, that these are not just strange children or children who need better discipline.[/quote] This is true for several physical and behavioral disabilities. And this poses a big challenge, as understanding this is really hard for those who haven't experienced the particular disability first hand. Those afflicted with these kinds of disorders are often thought to be 'weird' when they behave 'abnormally' in public that can't readily *see* anything abnormal in them. Education and awareness is essential for all kinds of disablities. For invisible disabilities, however, an educated public is often not enough. Each individual should have a low key/humble view of the world around them and be big enough to understand that Allah's Creation is diverse with varying traits. May Allah swt have Mercy on all those faced with challenges and make their path easy for them. Ameen. Inshallah, I want to get involved in such work... right now I just don't know how... For information on a vision disorder called RP (and blindness, in general) please check the following page on my website. http://www-aaa.eng.ohio-state.edu/~salimul/rp.html Wasalaam. |
| 04/02/02 at 00:28:28 |
| Asim |
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