It’s estimated an average of 1 in 110 children in the United States have an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Approximately 36,500 of the children born each year will eventually be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
People with autism typically have medical expenses that cost about $5,000 more per year than the annual medical expenses of people without autism. Many of these expenses aren’t covered by insurance.
Autism is an issue that strikes close to home here at Aiming Low. Many of our writers and readers are affected by autism in their own lives, as parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends of people living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, Aiming Low Does Good will be highlighting autism during the month of April.
During April, we hope to:
- Raise awareness
- Raise funds
Let’s start with the money talk.
Right now, there is no cure for autism. There is also no clear answer as to what causes autism.
We’d like to help change that.
Aiming Low is raising funds to support Autism Speaks, an organization that is “dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.”
Obviously, we’re going to encourage you to give money to this cause that is so near and dear to our hearts.
But, we’re also going to give something back, because that’s how we roll.
Specifically….
That, my friends, is a Blackberry Playbook – the “world’s first professional-grade tablet”. You can’t even get these suckers in the store yet, but we’re giving one away to one lucky donor.
Here’s how it works.
Make a donation in April to Autism Speaks through Aiming Low’s Donation Page.
It doesn’t matter how much you give; we just want you to give what you can and what feels right for you and your family.
We’ll choose one donor from the U.S. or Canada to receive a voucher for a free Blackberry Playbook.
Simple as that.
Let’s do this.
If you’d like to enter to win the Playbook Tablet from Blackberry without donating, send a self-addressed-stamped-envelope to:22 Rayner Dr Newnan, GA 30265 with your name, age, address, phone #, and email.
About Aiming Low Does Good
While this is a nice sentiment, Autism Speaks is at best a very controversial group which does speak well for those on the most challenged end of the spectrum. But they also don’t spend as much on “good works” as they do on failed advertising campaigns and on program overhead. They’ve also managed to tick off most people on the somewhat less challenged or more functional end of the spectrum.
One example of what I mean is here: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/09/25/autism-speaks-video/5541/
You can also check out Wrong Planet dot net for discussion as well. And a quote from an article in Time, circa 2009: “”Groups like Autism Speaks choose to use fear and stigma to raise money, but very little is going toward services, research into improved educational methodologies and things that have a practical impact on our lives,” Ne’eman charges.”
Of course, it’s hard to pick any charity like this without controversy. Autism is something that needs more discussion in our culture and I think it’s great that you guys are highlighting the needs of those with autism. Please understand that I’m just trying to let you know that some folks find the cause wonderful – but this particular group something abhorrent.
A lot can change in the two years since the “I Am Autism” campaign, but from what I hear in the aspie community at least, little has really changed with that organization.
I applaud your efforts to bring more attention to the issues of autism and the autie/aspie community. Thank you!
Ender – I really appreciate your feedback. We asked around from people we knew in the autism community and this and one other name came up the most. I wasn’t aware of any controversy with the site.
A few of the reasons I chose this particular organization was because they raise funds for research and lobbying – both efforts I think can have an impact on the day to day life of families living with autism.
Twitter Name: missbritt
Like you said, it’s so hard to find a charity that supports the needs of every person.
We try really hard to remember we have readers everywhere and the charity-outreach we do has to be as inclusive.
We hope that people will take this the way it was meant.
Lots of love and concern and support.
Twitter Name: Anissa Mayhew
I did donate, even with the possiblity of controversy. I think in some ways the pubilicity from the opponents of the more radical tactics helps raise awareness of the whole spectrum, and the need for recognition and research across all of the related aspects of autism. I don’t know if I’m correctly articulating this, but I’ll give it a shot.
Someone hears that AS is using radical tactics or that they are not fully representative of the autism community as a whole, so maybe they look at the other side and come to understand more facts about autism spectrum disorders overall and get past any misconcpetions they have about “autism=Rain Man” or whatever.
I appreciate that Aimling Low is trying to raise awareness, even if my children are not the ones who fall under the attention of Austism Speaks (my daughter got a Asperberger’s diagnosis a few months ago, and I suspect my younger son is on his way to one.)
Twitter Name: MamaKaren
Man I’d love to win that. Unfortunately, Autism Speaks doesn’t speak for me as a parent, nor my children with Autism. In fact, I don’t know that it speaks for any Autistics at all. The Autistic community doesn’t come together for a whole lot, but they’ve really come together against this organization. Actual people with Autism resent that there are no persons with Autism on the board as well as multiple other issues this organization has.
As a parent living daily with Autism, I want anything that will make my children’s lives easier. But not a group that I believe only seeks to instill fear and marginalize those with Autism. They’re not helping real families here and now.
You rock, Cecily. But Autism Speaks, IMO, doesn’t at all. I actually posted on them just over the weekend.
Twitter Name: Anne Basso
I am so sorry. I know just what you mean, my daughter had cancer and I got ticked off at the falsehood of St Jude’s campaigns and statics.
We really want to help the Autism community, and hope the awareness we raise is better than letting another chance go by silently.
Twitter Name: Anissa Mayhew
I dont WANT a prize for it. I work for kids that have disabilities. I think that ANY kind of awareness is awesome. I have raised money, I work with the kids, and nobody knows what causes it. THAT is the point! And they are all special. Special because of their abilities. Not because of their disabilaties.
Twitter Name: melissacop
The Autism community is divided in so many ways, you would be hard pressed to find one organization everyone can get behind. I raise money for Autism Speaks every year through their walks and I applaud this initiative.
I applaud AL for helping to raise awareness. It is, after all, Autism awareness month. But, like some other posters mentioned, Autism Speaks is controversial. Anything and everything autism related these days is. The way I look at it (and as a mother of a 4yo Aspie you better believe I look at it A LOT), Autism Speaks is focused on a “cause” and a “cure” or at bare minimum an understanding where the heck it comes from. It’s wonderful work that they do and extremely important (although most aspies and auties I know don’t necessarily think they need to be “cured” just better understood and accepted)
From someone who lives it every day, I find that supporting the groups that support the day to day lives makes more sense. Right now, today, I could care less if they found a “cure” or found the sequence of genomes responsible for autism. I don’t even care if they finally end the argument of whether it’s genetic or environment or a combo of both. What I need is help. I need respite. I need information. I need more service providers that can help my son. I need better laws in place that require insurance companies to help families cover the $2k+ a month in therapy. I’m lucky, my insurance covers most therapies, albeit grudgingly. But that still doesn’t cover the loss of our two income house when I had to quit my job so I could do what was needed to be done for my son. I need support for myself and my husband and our daughter. I need more funding in schools, better trained IEP teams, better services available for my kiddo.
And, when I say I, I’m guessing I’m speaking for a lot of other families out there in similar situations. I know for a fact that I’m not the only one saying these things.
SO…..(ok, off the soap box now) In our home, I’m active in the Autism Society of Colorado (I’m going to do some pro bono work for them through my marketing consulting firm) and my husband is running a marathon to help raise money for them.
Saying that, the research angle is still VERY important to support and I love that you ladies are doing it. I’ll even donate too and hope that I get the prize, mostly because I think my little guy would get a HUGE kick out of it.
Twitter Name: mbamrsmom
So this is a false advertised campaign and giveaway. It DOES matter how much you give because there is a bottom limit of $5.00. I believe there is some wrong doings here. I’m going to check into it.
While Autism Speaks is the largest Autism advocacy organization, until they face reality and stop trying to blame vaccines for autism, I have no interest in giving them any money. I hear parents of children with autism saying over and over-they don’t want a cure, they want help, and Autism Speaks seems to be so focused on curing autism that they aren’t serving the autism community in a helpful way.
You do realize that it’s illegal in every state to host an online raffle that requires an entry fee, right? Even if it’s for charity. I would think that RIM would know better, at the very least.
You’re absolutely right and we’ve updated the post to reflect that! Thanks for the reminder!
Twitter Name: missbritt
Right. I bet the prize is going to a donor anyway. I’m sorry, but it seems to me that this giveaway was nothing but a ploy from the start.
AL was, at one time, a reputable and respectable site. Seems that there is a bit of greed and entitlement here now. Shame.