Today is...

[IceWizard]

02 Apr 2017


World Autism Day



World Autism Awareness Day was established on December 18, 2007 by the United Nations. The General Assembly put together resolution 62/139, which consisted of four major elements. The participation of all UN organization and its member states, a dedication to raising awareness of Autism in the general community, and a standing request to the UN Secretary-General to move forth this message to all it the UN member states.

Autism affects approximately 1 out of every 150 children around the world. It is a neural development disorder that affects their ability to socialize normally by impacting their abilities to utilize verbal and non-verbal communication. Since 2012, there has been a 30% increase in the amount of children being affected with autism, and World Autism Awareness Day helps to bring awareness to this growing health concern.

Autism first appears very early on, sometimes manifesting as early as infancy, in other times waiting until later in childhood. The disease progresses steadily without remission, its first symptoms generally appearing around six-months, and being firmly in place by age two or three. Rather than having one distinguishing characteristic, Autism is indicated by the coming together of three separate symptoms. The triad includes difficulty socializing, problems in communication, and a limited number of interests combined with repetitive behavior such as can-stacking.

Autism is no longer classified as a single disorder, but rather an entire spectrum ranging in severity. Autism is the core of all of these syndromes, with its features being prevalent to varying degrees throughout, and includes such disorders such as Rett Syndrome and Childhood disintegrative disorder. One of the most commonly known disorders on the list, outside of Autism itself, is Asperger’s. Asperger Syndrome is signified by the presence of Autism symptoms with no impairment of language development.

Asperger Syndrome often leads to problems with social interaction with their peers. Common body language queues that are picked up on by those not on the Autistic Spectrum are often lost on those who suffer from AS. It is not uncommon among the Asperger community to hear them speak of their frustrations with non-Asperger people, as huge chunks of the conversation just seem utterly lost on them. Things such as tone, context, and sarcasm have to be considered very carefully, as they are not often native to those with AS, and their frustration with communication often stems from this and other social queues.

However, much like anyone on the Autistic spectrum, they will present with areas of intelligence that are much stronger than that of others. These areas tend to be in the reading, language, music, or spatial skills, occasionally manifesting to such a degree that they may fall into the “gifted” range in those areas. This seems to be counterbalanced by significant delays in other areas of development.

On WAAD, you can help raise awareness by hosting an event with local families with Autistic family members, bringing them all together to be among others sharing their difficulties, challenges, and joys. You could contact local businesses and encourage them to light up their building blue to signal their support for those suffering from Autism, or you could even light up your own home. Spend WAAD reading about Autism and discussing it with others, and perhaps trying to gain a little understanding about this special group of people and the syndrome they live with.



And




International Children's Book Day



See Dick. See Dick Run. Run Dick Run. See Jane. See Jane Run After Jack. Run Jane Run. These words comprise some of the first words we ever learned to read on our own, and are recognizable to many people of many different cultures. Along with these tales are stories of the hungry caterpillar and the stories of the strange and wonderful creatures of the world of Serendipity. Children’s Book Day celebrates these and the thousands of other books that parents have read and shared with their children to encourage literacy, and stimulate the growth of their imagination.

History of Children’s Book Day

We all have our favorite books from childhood, ones that set the tone for our imaginations and that bring back memories of home when we remember them, and some small comfort when we run our fingers over the well-worn and loved spines of the stories of our youth. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) founded Children’s Book Day in 1967. As an international non-profit organization promoting the importance of literacy and reading to our children, IBBY works tirelessly to promote Children’s Book and Authors, and organize events in schools and libraries all over the world to get children reading.

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April 2 Birthdays



Marvin Gaye - (1939 - 1984) (44)




Christopher Meloni - 56




Clark Gregg - 55




Adam Rodriguez - 42




Hans Christian Andersen - (1805 - 1875) (70)




Leon Russell - (1942 - 2016) (74)




Alec Guinness - (1914 - 2000) (86)




Emmylou Harris - 70




Linda Hunt - 72




Charlemagne - (742 - 814) (71)




Rodney King - (1965 - 2012) (47)





April 2nd

1997: Joni Mitchell publicly announced that she found her daughter, Kilauren Gibb. Mitchell had given her up for adoption in 1965.

1990: Nirvana entered Smart Studios in Madison, WI where they recorded a demo produced by Butch Vig which they shopped around to major labels. The demo included “Lithium”, “In Bloom” & “Polly” which later appeared on their first major label album Nevermind released the following year.

1990: Eric Clapton was fined over $400 by Walton-on-Thames Magistrates court, after being booked for speeding at 105 mph. Clapton was banned from driving for three months.

1987: U2 kicked off their tour in support of The Joshua Tree in Tempe, AZ at the Arizona State University Activity Center.

1977: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac began the first of 31 non-consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart. As of 2003, Rumours had been certified Platinum 19 times & it’s the ninth biggest selling album of all time in the U.S.

1977: Kansas reached the top five of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first time as Leftoverture peaked at number five where it stayed for four weeks.

1977: Wings peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with a live rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” which was their eleventh top ten single in the U.S.

1967: Steve Winwood left The Spencer Davis Group to form his own band, which would later become Traffic.

1964: The Beach Boys recorded the instrumental track for “I Get Around” at United Western Recorders in Hollywood. The song went to number one that same July.



Birthdays:

Leon Russell born in 1942

Kurt Winter - Guitarist for The Guess Who born in 1942

Leon Wilkeson - Bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd born in 1952

David Robinson - Drummer for The Cars born in 1953