Every year on April 2nd, the world celebrates Autism Awareness day. It’s estimated that around 1 in 88 children in the U.S. are affected by Autism. This cause is near and dear to many individual’s hearts and this can be seen with the amount of people that participate in World Autism Awareness Day events. Many businesses and households change their lightbulbs to blue lights on April 2nd to show the world that they are supporting those individuals that have Autism.
How The World Participates
Autism awareness activities aren’t just something that happen in the U.S. Throughout the world many iconic buildings and landmarks have participated in World Autism Awareness Day by lighting up blue. These buildings include:
– Niagara Falls
– United Kingdom’s Guildford Cathedral
– Serbia’s Albania Palace
– Ireland’s Dublin City Hall
– Egypt’s Cairo Tower
– Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower
– Toronto’s CN Tower
– New York City’s Empire State Building
– Australia’s Sydney Opera House
– Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Over the past several year around 30 countries have participated in these events which include over 150 different buildings or landmarks lit up blue on April 2nd.
Ways To Light It Up Blue
You can show your support for Autism awareness in several ways, including:
– Changing your outdoor lightbulbs. Many home improvement stores sell blue lightbulbs specifically for World Autism Awareness Day so that households can illuminate their home in blue lighting on April 2nd.
– Put a blue wreath on your door. If you don’t want to change your lightbulbs you can always make a blue wreath and display it on your door.
–Wear Blue. Wearing blue on April 2nd will show the world that you support Autism awareness.
–Donate. In order to learn more about Autism and effective treatments, donations are needed. There are quite a few foundations that are geared towards Autism.
Autism affects each child differently. It is a neurobiological disorder that is very complex. It can affect a child or adult’s ability to communicate and often has behavioral challenges associated with it. Researchers still aren’t sure what causes Autism and although there are treatments that can help greatly, there is no cure. World Autism Awareness Day helps support crucial funding efforts and awareness needed to help prevent it and find a cure. Don’t forget to “light it up blue” on April 2nd for those that are affected by Autism.
