Autism is a scary word. It brings to mind children who are completely detached from the world, incapable of communication, tending frequently to loud, occasionally violent outbursts. You see parents with stressed, worried eyes who try to insulate their child from the dangers of the outside world. The fear of autism is so strong that some people are choosing not to vaccinate their children. They would prefer them to be exposed to measles, among other diseases, rather than possibly have them be autistic. (I should note here that the study people are fond of quoting about how vaccinations cause autism has been proven to have been falsified.)
Some of this perception is true, and some of it isn't. What is important to understand is that autism is a spectrum. Each person on the spectrum has their unique quirks - the saying is that when you meet a person with autism, you have met ONE person with autism. Their form of autism is unique; the things they react to are unique; the intensity of their reaction is unique; the form of their reaction is unique.
Now, I am not in any way an authority or expert on autism. I likely have things wrong. I am not a parent of an autistic child nor do I have autism myself. All of my information is second-hand. I know parents of autistic children. I know people who are on the spectrum. I have read blog posts/articles written by parents of autistic children. So, I repeat, I am not in any way an authority or expert on autism.
What I understand is that, frequently, raising a child with autism is a balancing act. You want to have your child experience the world, but you also want to protect your child from negative experiences. Which, now that I think about it, is the want of all parents. Unfortunately, this is more difficult for parents of autistic children.
Let's say you want to have a family dinner out at a restaurant. For most families, the most difficult part is deciding which pizza location they like best and making sure everyone has shoes and a coat on. Families with an autistic child have to consider much more than that. Is my child having a good day? How close together are the tables; will someone bump into my touch-sensitive child? How loud is it there? Will they be accommodating to my child's food requirements (like having each part of the meal on a separate plate or having only square food or any one of a number of things)? How will the staff deal with my child having a melt down? What sort of seats do they have? And a million other things I cannot even begin to fathom.
The answers to these questions aren't in restaurant reviews. They are in the parents' minds who have already been to that restaurant. Families with autistic children rely on word of mouth to find places. But what if there were a better way to communicate?
That's where Autism Village steps in.
Autism Village is striving to create ways to advertise autism-friendly businesses. They are currently running a kickstarter to create an iOS app sort of like Yelp or Trip Advisor for autism friendly businesses. It's for autism families, by autism families. They recently hit their goal, but still have quite a bit of time left. Stretch goals include expanding the app to Android and tablets. Beyond that? They want to create a certification program for businesses looking to become more autism friendly.
These people are going to make the world a better place.
How can you help? Donate $1. Really, just $1. They have a friend of the project who will donate at least $10,000 if there are more than 10,000 backers. So the number of backers is just as important (if not more so) than the average donation per backer.
Do you know anyone on the spectrum?
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