I don’t know about you, but April has become one of the busiest months of the year for me…ushering in “Autism Awareness Month” means that everyone, including my friends and family members who are not raising kids with ASD are hearing and reading more about this spectrum; everyone seems more open and people are sharing some great posts, articles, essays and thoughts with one another. I’m also noticing that most of my friends (with children on the spectrum) who – like me – have been “at this” for a number of years are tired of simple “Awareness” and ready for ACTION!

Count me in! Time for some action!

If you missed my post late last month discussing how very common ASD has become in our society, I would encourage you to read it: Autism = The New Normal? I think it is important to note that Autism Speaks, announced in 2009 (1 ½ years ago) that 1 in 91 kids, and 1 in 58 boys, live with some form of Autism. With the rates of change we’ve been seeing over the past two decades, you can bet that number today IS even higher. Just another catalyst for me to want to take action!

My son is already affected, but that doesn’t mean that I want my friends’ and neighbors’ babies and toddlers to be next…I also need to know what to do (in terms of treatment, interventions and therapies) to help Ethan improve and eventually recover. Simply put - I’m all about the action!

That’s why I’m so excited to see Autism Organizations joining forces this month to spread awareness but also take action. On April 28th, three organizations with which I am involved (The Autism Trust USA, The National Autism Association of North Texas and Warrior Parents of Dallas) are jointly hosting an event in honor of Autism Awareness Month. AutismSpot is proud to be one of the valued sponsors.

Members of the audience will have the opportunity to hear about all that the three organizations are doing to help our local community and they will hear from 3 prominent speakers/authors in our community!

Dr. Andrew J. Wakefield will present information about The Primate Project, a collaborative study with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh to assess the role of childhood vaccinations in Regressive Autism and discuss implications for treatment. He will also sign copies of his book, “Callous Disregard.”

Husband and wife, Rupert Isaacson and Kristen Neff, will share about their son Rowan, their journey with Autism and sign copies of their books and DVD. Rupert is the author of “The Horse Boy: A Father’s Story” and producer and character in the film “The Horse Boy.” Kristen’s new book “Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind” is set to be released on April 19th.

These speakers each come to the podium with important messages (of hope and action) to share with our local community; it has been such a spirit-lifter to see 3 organizations I care about come together to host this event and to have 9 businesses/companies/organizations come on as sponsors to offer such an important event at no cost for the attendees! (FREE!)

With that said, if you’re in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (or in driving distance) and can attend the event, on behalf of AutismSpot, The Autism Trust USA, The National Autism Association of North Texas (NAA-NT) and Warrior Parents of Dallas, it is my pleasure to invite you to join us on April 28th at 7pm at the Angelika Film Center in Plano (7205 Bishop Road, Suite E6) for a presentation and book signing with Dr. Andrew J. Wakefield, Rupert Isaacson and Kristen Neff. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, therapist, principal, doctor, friend or neighbor - we hope you will mark your calendar and join us! For more details, check out our Facebook Event Page or drop a note here with any questions; we’re looking forward to a great event in honor of Autism Awareness (and ACTION) Month and hope you can be a part of it!

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Leigh Attaway Wilcox is a writer and editor for the projectLD family of companies. Leigh is Assistant Editor of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007. Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.