CEBU CITY – To commemorate “World Autism Awareness Day” on April 2 this year, Autism Society Philippines (ASP)-Cebu with its advocates and stakeholders held the annual Angels’ Walk of persons with autism (PWAs) at the SM Seaside, Mountain Wing, Main Lobby, South Road Properties, Cebu City, after a two-year hiatus.
More than 1,000 people joined the in-mall parade that brought Cebu’s autism community composed of persons with autism (PWAs) and their families, teachers, therapists and students from schools, learning and therapy centers, volunteers from NGOs and socio-civic organizations, and advocates from the public and private sector in a show of commitment towards an “Autism-OK Philippines”.
Most recent study from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that autism affects 1 out of 44 in the United States and another studies in Asia, Europe, and North America identified individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at an average prevalence of between one to two percent which conservatively translates to around 1.2 million Filipinos with autism.
A Primer on Autism in The Philippines written by Mona Magno-Veluz, Erlinda Koe and Cecilia Sicam bared that autism prevalence worldwide is increasing at a higher rate of 300 percent since 1990, more prevalent than the combined total of AIDS, HIV, and cancer and more boys are affected than girls, with a ratio of 4:1.
The Autism Society Philippines (ASP) estimated that based on extrapolating data collected from its members, only 10 percent of Filipinos with autism are diagnosed and five percent receive appropriate intervention and noted that the Philippine government has never done a study of the incidence and distribution of ASD in the country.
According to the ASP, this makes finding the right professional partners a challenge for families who need to consult, especially in the provincial areas. The distribution of support services is also localized in metropolitan areas.
The Primer describes ASD as an
atypical neural development of the brain that starts from early infancy and it
is not a psychological condition. It is
a lifelong developmental condition that affects how a person communicates with
and relates to, other people.
“ASD is also characterized by repetitive motor movements, inflexible adherence to routines, ritualized patterns of behavior, fixations, and hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input,” a pediatrician told this writer.
The Primer also said that ASD may occur with other conditions such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, among others.
ASD is a spectrum condition, which means that,
while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their autism will
affect them in different ways. Many
people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may
have accompanying challenges that require a lifetime of specialist support, the
Primer information reads.
According to doctors, the cause of autism is still unknown, but scientific research suggests it is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Autism is not detected at birth and as yet, no physical test will detect ASD.
A child can be diagnosed with autism before the age of 3 years, by observing their behavior. Licensed developmental pediatricians, neurologists, and clinical psychologists may be consulted to assess whether a person has autism.
The condition is also widely distributed across races and other demographic areas, making physical generalizations baseless.
No comments:
Post a Comment