Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently took to Twitter to promote awareness for individuals with autism and their loved ones during Autism Awareness Month.
The community is encouraged to participate during Autism Awareness Month by spreading awareness and promoting acceptance for those with autism.
"April is #AutismAwarenessMonth and the goal is to be mindful of the hurdles that people with autism and others living with autism face every day," Paxton said in an April 6 Twitter post. "Autism is a spectrum disorder that affects people differently and to varying degrees."
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication and patterns of restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests, according to Autism Spectrum News.
“This can impact one’s manner of speech, ability to engage in typical social communication such as humor, sarcasm or use of idioms, and more,” Dr. Jessica Pipkin, a licensed psychologist told Today Parents. “Social skills deficits can also be much more nuanced. It can be very like landing in the middle of a foreign land with a language you do not speak and rules that everyone else seems to know but of which you are unaware."
The other primary aspect of ASD relates to patterns of restricted or repetitive interests or activities and in more intense cases, individuals may exhibit unusual behavior when excited or agitated.
“There might be an intense interest on a particular topic or activity,” Pipkin said. “Some individuals may seem skilled in their areas of interest, but often it is simply that they are wholly absorbed by the topic (or) focus and may find it difficult to detach from their interests, behaviors or otherwise.”
Autism affects individuals in varying degrees and Pipkin said that The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5) outlines three levels of severity to better diagnose each individual's autism and determine their support needs.
According to the data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in 54 children were identified with ASD among a 2016 sample of 8-year-olds from 11 U.S. communities.
ASD is diagnosed more often in males than in females, with recent estimates suggesting a 3:3:1 ratio.