Children suffering from autism took out a rally in Visakhapatnam recently as part of a campaign to create awareness about the disease.
A special school for autistic children called ‘Sparsh’ organised the rally in which children along with their parents and school trainers took to the streets.
The children carried placards with emotional messages like ‘Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say’.
“Usually the thing is parents are able to indentify only after the age of three-and-a-half or four. The main hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is impairment in communication and other thing is avoids eye contact, repetitive movements, stereotypic behaviour and other such,” said Lakshmi, school in-charge and trainer.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the normal brain’s function. The condition makes a person hard to communicate with and relate to other people
The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of children and adults, who are affected by autism, so they can lead full and meaningful lives.
Research on this disease is still on but the real cause is still unknown, she added.
However, many researchers believe genetics is 90 per cent responsible for a child getting autism. Some cases are linked to chemical exposure during pregnancy.