Mix 95.7 Listener Shares Awareness Of Autism On The Morning Show

For Mother's Day, the morning show gave away 95.7 seconds of airtime to the winner of a mother/daughter lookalike contest.  Stephanie ended up winning the contest with a picture of her daughter and grand daughter and she chose to use her airtime to bring awareness of Autism.

Her grandson has Autism so, she chose to share some information on the subject so that other's can get some education on Autism.  Here is what she had to say:

HI! Here is just a little information on Autism.

Some people know April is Autism Awareness month and April 2nd is Awareness day. But what people don't know is what it's like to have a child with Autism.

It's a life long job basically. Tiring, fear, trying, frustration, guilt, excitement, worry & questions. You worry who will take care of them if something happens to you. Will they be able to live on their own? Will they be able or can they have children? Will they be picked on, do they feel left out? Those are just a few of the questions.

The parents feel like they are alone, they never have a break or day off. It's a 24/7 job.

Now, there are different spectrums of Autism. There are distinct strengths & challenges. Some are highly skilled & others severely challenged. Some will always need daily care, others will be able to live on their own.

Children who are Autistic may never learn to speak or make eye contact. They don't want or like to be touched. They don't like crowds or unexpected loud noise. They have repetitive behaviors like flapping their arms, banging their heads or twirling things over & over. They don't like change & need a routine. They would rather be alone than playing with other kids. They throw temper tantrums out of the blue. Are physically aggressive to themselves, parents, siblings or other children. They are unable to control themselves in new places, strange, or stressful situations. They rock back and forth, flutter their hands, repeat the same word or phrase.

This is just some information to help understand. So when you see a child having a meltdown, and the parent can't calm them, they are letting them get it out, or they look like they could sleep a week. Don't be angry, criticize or be rude. Their child may be Autistic and there is no cure for it.

Thank you for listening! I hope this helps those who don't know.

You can read more about Autism at AutismSpeaks.org.

Listen to the entire segment below: