Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Today is World Autism Awareness Day

Celebrated annually on April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day was adopted by the United Nations in 2007 to shine a bright light on autism as a growing global health crisis. The goal is to increase world knowledge of the autism crisis and disseminate information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 68 American children is living with autism (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) .

There are three health issues that are recognized by the United Nations with their own day, autism is one of them.

Listed below are just a sample of the numerous books on autism that the Community Library has available. In addition, a HealthWatch brochure is on display that lists many useful autism websites, as well as the web address and telephone numbers to local autism organizations, support groups and hotlines.

Raun Kaufman defied all odds after being diagnosed by multiple experts as severely autistic and went on to graduate with a degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University. Learn about Raun's life in Autism Breakthrough and the hurdles he overcame to become a passionate and articulate spokesperson for the autism community with no trace of autism.

Overcoming Autism: finding the answers, strategies, and hope that can transform a child's life by Lynn Kern Koegel is an updated classic guide that includes today's cutting-edge research. This revised edition has also been expanded to clarify the importance of community support to affected families and the effect of societal acceptance on a child’s life.

Understanding Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Educators Partnering with Families by Michelle Haney introduces the complex body of research and theory in the field of autism within the larger context of understanding the unique sociocultural dimensions of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families.

The Autism Puzzle by Brita Belli is the first book to address the compelling evidence that it is the pairing of environmental exposures with genetic susceptibilities that may be impacting the brain development of children.

In addition to discussing the range of natural medicine treatments available, The Natural Medicine Guide to Autism by Stephanie Marohn covers the basics of autism--what it is and what causes it--and the factors that are often involved in the disorder.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Today is World Autism Awareness Day

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