On December 18, 2007, the United Nations designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. This resolution brings the world's attention to autism, a pervasive developmental disorder that affects as many as 1 in 150 children and 1 in 94 boys. The entire month of April is also designated in the United States as Autism Awareness Month.

As the mother of a 4 year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism last year I celebrate World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month as much needed events to encourage the acceptance and the compassion necessary for our children to grow up with opportunity and support.

Like many kids on the autism spectrum, my son is very bright, and he’s also affectionate, funny, happy and quite social. Yet living with autism can be scary and exhausting, for some more than others. Autism affects every individual differently and this makes it difficult to understand, treat and live with. There is no single treatment or intervention that works better than another.

When we received our diagnosis, I learned that living with autism is about helping our child to make meaningful connections in our world. I had no idea where to start. I looked out to the community and found other families, too many families, affected by autism in Loudoun County. We created a local network, open to anyone affected by autism, to advocate for our children and to support each other. LoCo Autism Network is member led group that is open to the public and meets on at least a monthly basis.

Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the world. I hope that World Autism Awareness Day will educate the world by showing that there are millions of us living with the reality of autism every day. Throughout the month of April, please take a moment to know autism.

Jodi M. Folta Ashburn www.locoautismnetwork.com