April Is National Autism Awareness Month

Photo L to R: Kate Johnson-Patagoc, Texana Director, Specialized Services, Mayor Jeff Roberts & Andi Wallis, Texana Community Relations Manager

Fulshear TX – April 19, 2017 – Texana Center was delighted that the City of Fulshear recognized April as National Autism Awareness Month with a proclamation at their Council meeting.

The first National Autism Awareness Month was declared by the Autism Society in April 1970.  The aim of this month is educate the public about autism. Autism is a complex mental condition and developmental disability, characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates and interacts with other people. Autism can be present from birth or from early childhood (typically within the first three years). Autism is a lifelong developmental disability with no single known cause.

People with autism are classed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the terms autism and ASD are often used interchangeably. A wide spectrum disorder, people will autism have set of symptoms unique to themselves; no two people are the same.

While no two people with autism will have the same set of symptoms, there are common characteristics which include: social skills deficits, repetitive behavior such as handing flapping, lack of empathy, not liking physical contact or sudden changes in the environment such as loud nose, and lack of speech or ‘echolalia’ when a person with autism repeats words and phrases that they hear. Other characteristics of autism can include an unpredictable learning rate, obsessions and physical tics.

Autism affects 1 in every 68 births in the United State according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).   The ‘Puzzle Ribbon’ is the symbol for Autism Awareness as autism is a puzzling condition.  Texana Center representatives handed Autism Ribbon pins to everyone in attendance and asked them to help make others aware of the increasing need for treatment for autism.

Texana Center is a leader in Texas for applied behavior analysis (the only scientifically proven treatment for autism) and has plans to build a new campus in Fulshear which includes the Children’s Center for Autism.  Texana is committed to educating parents, professionals and the general public about autism and its effects.

Mayor Roberts welcomed Texana Center to the Fulshear community and asked the community to support Texana’s fundraising efforts to build a campus at the corner of FM 359 and Wallis Street.