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Faith-Based Efforts Raise Autism Awareness Among African Americans

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Thursday, July 25, 2013   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S., and it knows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. However, statistics reveal that the age of diagnosis among African Americans is higher than that of the general public.

Latreese Jones, board member, Autism Society of Ohio, said many families suffer in silence, because of misunderstandings and stigmas associated with mental disorders. A lot of the information available about autism does not typically depict minorities, she said.

"There is a misconception that autism is a not a disorder that affects African Americans. If a person does not see themselves reflected in the literature and the outreach, then they do not feel that it affects them," she explained.

It is important to get children diagnosed as soon as possible, Jones said, so they can access critical treatments and services that will help improve their outcome. One way to engage African American families is through their faith community, a place where they often turn for information and support about health and social issues.

Taking the conversation about autism into churches, where many minority families feel safe, can have a tremendous impact, she added.

"You put a face on it. As an African American myself, I have unveiled myself to these groups to make sure that they know this does affect us, and we do need to know, we need to be aware and we need to take action."

Besides building awareness among families, Jones said they are also working to ensure that families can feel comfortable going to church and continuing their faith journey.

"What we try to do is to increase what is called 'Disability Ministries' in churches, so that families can still come to church and not have to feel ostracized, and not have to feel like they need to trade off their faith because they have a child with a disability or a disorder like autism."

Jones said she is working with others on trainings and on a conference in the fall, to increase autism awareness and build a disability ministry among churches in Ohio. Between 2002 and 2008, the rate of diagnosed cases of autism increased 78 percent; it now affects one in 88 children.

More information is available at www.autismohio.org.




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