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Autism Awareness

Month in Wayne

By Sarah Shurge their daily lives, while others need
On Tuesday, April 2nd, Wayne less support and, in some cases, live
Mayor John Rhaesa signed an entirely independently.
Autism Awareness Proclamation, on On average, autism is diagnosed
behalf of the City Council and the cit- around age 5 in the US, with signs
izens of Wayne, to hereby proclaim appearing by age 2 or 3. Among the
the month of April 2024 as Autism most common co-occuring condi-
Awareness Month in the City of tions are attention-deficit/hyperactiv-
Wayne and encourage all Wayne Citi- ity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and
zens to look beyond autism and see depression, gastrointestinal (GI) dis-
someone special. orders, seizures, and sleep disor-
The Autism Awareness Proclama- ders. Anybody can be autistic;
tion, states the following: however, research shows that boys
Autism refers to a broad range of get diagnosed with autism four times
conditions characterized by chal- more often than girls.
lenges with social skills, repetitive Living with a person with Autism
behaviors, speech, and nonverbal Spectrum Disorder affects the entire
communication. family. Meeting the complex needs of
There is not just one type of a person with autism can put fami-
autism, but many. Autism looks dif- lies under a great deal of stress -
ferent for everyone, and each person emotional, financial, and sometimes
with autism has a distinct set of even physical.
strengths and challenges. Some Autism is a lifelong condition and
autistic people can speak, while oth- an autistic person’s needs, strengths,
ers are nonverbal or minimally ver- and challenges may change over
bal and communicate in other ways.
Some require significant support in See Autism, page 13 Wayne City Clerk Tina Parnell with her grandson Mark.

6 · April 2024 · The Wayne Dispatch