Goal For The Green

Update

Congratulations, to to NASCAR’S, Jimmy Johnson.  He was Sunday’s (May31,2009) winner of the Autism Speaks 400.  The race was held at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

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On Sunday, May 31,2009, The NASCAR Sprint Cup Race will be held at Dover Internaational Raceway.  The name of the race is the Autism Speaks 400.  Autism Speaks was founded in 2005, by Suzanne and Bob Wright, who are grandparents  to a child with autism.  It has become the nation’s largest organization, focused on autism science and advocacy.  Their mission is to fund for the causes, studies, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.

The NASCAR communnity, includes many families and individuals who are affected by autism.   This race helps promote awareness, compassion and hope to the NASCAR community and the entire nation.

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There is a new effort being made, to require insurance companies to provide benefits for the treatment of autism.  The bill made it through Missouri state senate, but failed to make it through the house.  The push is on to have autism insurance available in 2010.

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Controversy is always swirling when it comes to autism.  Anything from the GFCF (gluten-free casein free) diet, to this treatment or that treat ment.  Which one, how much is enough or too much?  Then of course there is always the Question- To Vaccinate Or Not? As if, autism itself weren’t enough for parents and caregivers to  cope with.

According to the scientific community, the topic of whether to vaccinate or not, has become the most debated, diverse, and persistent medical myth of our times:  that autism could be caused by childhood vaccines. Scientists and research says there is no connection.  Obviously,trust and accountability are some of the main reasons Why Many Parents Believe Myths About Autism AndVaccines.

Currently, the odds of autism are 1:150 children affected here in the U.S, and 1:88 in the UK.  The biggest question is why?  Now, in the most recent study conducted at Cambridge University, many children are “undiagnosed.”  This, could bring the number of affected children to 1 in 64.  I find this very troubling…and still the biggest question is …WHY?

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See where the cutest ladybugs live!

By now you’ve probably heard the comments made last week by radio talk show host Michael Savage. He caused outrage across the nation about his comments on autism, stating that it is a “racket” and a “fraud. Here is the video in case you missed it.

Unless you have a child with autism, or are a caregiver that works with this population, you just can’t know the tremendous amount of time, love and devotion that is necessary to deal with this disorder 24/7. While I don’t at all agree with Mr. Savages comments about autistic children being “brats” or ” idiots”, he certainly caused a furor that bought too much attention to him, and an even greater awareness of how huge autism is. At About.com is an article from a different perspective on what Mr. Savage may have done for autism.

Read about that here.

When it come to autism, it is doubtful that it is misdiagnosed, under diagnosed, or over diagnosed. The truth is that 1 out of every 150 children are diagnosed with some form of the disorder. These are pretty alarming statistics for a disorder that varies so greatly in its severity, and has no cure.  Or society has been led to believe by the medical community and pharmaceutical companies, that there is a pill for everything. Well, there is no “magic” pill for autism. With this thought in mind, it is possible that many people, adults and children alike are over medicated, no matter what their ailment  or diagnosis is.