Creating Awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder Starts on the Ground Level

Autism spectrum disorder is a chronic childhood development illness that impacts families all over the world. Currently, 1 in 68 children born in the United States will suffer from some form of autism spectrum disorder, and this number will continue to rise until we crack down on the causation of the group of illnesses and determine a path forward for prevention. For parents, teachers, and the medical community, there is a lot that can be done on the ground level in order to raise awareness, generate fundraising, and help move the pendulum towards finding a cure:

Learn More about Autism Spectrum Disorder Really Is

Autism spectrum disorder is a broad classification for a series of conditions and symptoms that fall under the autism umbrella. Therefore, it can be confusing sometimes to understand what that classification means as it's not a singular illness. To get a better idea of what autism spectrum disorder is and how it can affect a children, parents should do as much research possible to understand it. They can also visit speaking engagements, speak with their own medical professional, and attend support groups for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Start a Fundraiser and Advocate

There are a number of fundraising events currently out there for autism spectrum disorder. A simple Google search will turn up many - and an interested party can always speak with autism groups that frequently hold events to learn more about upcoming engagements on the schedule. An event could consist of something as simple as a bake sale or a 5K run. If one can, he or she should try to attend and bring friends. Volunteering is always a good option as well. If one gets the advocacy bug, one can always start their own event to fundraise and create awareness of the cause. Look for groups that are doing their part to try and find a cure. The Dwoskin Family Foundation, for example, has funded many different efforts to conduct medical research on causation and prevention to eventually reduce the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder. 

What Is The Dwoskin Family Foundation?

For more than 10 years, the Dwoskin Family Foundation has dedicated time and effort to public health research that focuses on discovering the causal reasons for the onset of autoimmune, inflammatory and cognitive disorders in both children and older adults. The reason behind their mission is based on the increased prevalence of once-rare autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like Alzheimer's, autism, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases.

The founders of the foundation, Claire and Albert Dwoskin, established the foundation because many other people are unaware of the rising prevalence of such chronic illnesses and it's important to become educated because there may be a way to prevent and ultimately put a stop to such diseases and disorders. The Dwoskins understand how a chronic illness can impact a family's well-being because it can be challenging to achieve financial security, enjoyment and the fulfillment of their hopes and dreams. There are many unanswered questions these families are look for and the Dwoskin Family Foundation is focused on finding those answers.

Through their philanthropic commitment to the foundation enables 100% of the all funds donated by the public to be applied to research because that's what will fuel groundbreaking information. However, as a private foundation, the Dwoskin Family Foundation was limited in how it could use donated funds and how it could raise them. Some laws governing tax-exempt organizations made it challenging to dedicate 100% of the donations to philanthropic causes and in many cases regarding international research organizations, donated funds are heavily taxed. With that in mind, this reduced the amount of foundation-funded research and would delay the arrival of important research evidence.

Due to the nature of the private foundation, Claire Dwoskin established the Children's Medical Safety Research Institute, which a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This allows for all donations to be tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law and provide 100% of the donations to the funding of new research. The mission of the Dwoskin Family Foundation carried over to CMSRI where the importance of addressing and researching the rising concerns about chronic illnesses is key.