Local family celebrates boy during National Autism Awareness Month
By Patrice Bumstead
Farmer Editor
Rebekka Perez knew something was wrong with her little boy. She just didn’t know what. “I started noticing certain behaviors Zaiden was developing when he was one-and-a- half years old, such as being clingy to certain things, not wearing certain clothes, wanting his shoes on a certain foot even if they were on the wrong foot, as well as only eating certain foods.”
She also noticed that when other kids in his daycare were starting to talk around age two, Zaiden wasn’t. And by age three when other children were potty training, he had no interest. It was those important milestones he missed which led Rebekka to worry there might be something more going on than a slight delay in development.
October is National Autism Awareness Month. So, what exactly is ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)? According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), ASD or Autism is described as a range of conditions associated with repetitive behaviors, speech delays, non-verbal communication and difficulty with social skills. The CDC estimates that one in 44 U.S. children are affected by the condition.