2.5 Million Readers Pick Top Posts for 2014

Autism Day By Day - 2.5 Million Readers Pick Top Posts for 2014

What a year! Autism Day by Day became an official National Institute of health resource and more than 2.5 million of you logged onto Autism Day by Day. When the year was over you had unanimously picked the following posts to make up the top 20 reads! Your favorites covered every topic from Bullies to Puberty, Police to Cover Up's at the CDC, Joy of Surfing to Statistics, Employment and what makes us really mad, these are the posts that got your attention.  

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​MIT Reports 1/2 of all US Children will have autism by ..​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/12/half-of-all-us-children-will-be.html

​A Candid Conversation with A Cop - Be afraid!​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/12/operation-introduction-conversation.html

​​National PSA address's Autism Related Wandering; Spread the Word!

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/09/help-get-word-out-share-this-psa.html

​Bullies without Boundaries!​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/09/bullies-without-boundaries-ice-bucket.html

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​Puberty, Part II Managing Masturbation! ​A must read for Moms

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/02/puberty-part-iii-managing-masturbation.html​

11 Ted Talks to a Happier Life! 

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/09/11-talks-to-happier-lifewhy-not.html

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​CDC Vaccine Cover Up Reported

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/09/whistleblower-cdc-covered-up-vaccines.html

​Disney Faces More Heat in Autism Lawsuits ​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/09/disney-faces-more-heat-as-autistic-kids.html

​A Must See Video!  Autism + Surfing = Pure Joy!​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/08/autism-and-surfing-must-see-video-of.html

​Police and Autism a Dangerous Mix​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/08/police-and-autism-dangerous-mix-police.html

​​​Autism Online Job Board​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/06/online-job-board-for-applicants-with.html

Disney Law Suit​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/04/disney-parks-refutes-lawsuit-claiming.html

There may soon be a way to genetically test children for ASD

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/04/news-alert-there-may-soon-be-way-to.html

​Why "Retarded Needs to Be Retired"​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/03/why-retarded-deserves-to-be-retired.html

​Employment Improves Autism Symptoms​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/03/employment-may-lead-to-improvement-in.html

​Autism and Meditation - A good mix! ​

http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2014/03/highlights-from-autism-meditation.html

OPERATION INTRODUCTION - Keep Our Kids Safe!

Saving the life of  a person with ASD starts with us, which includes me. Today I'm going to build a safety net for Nick in my community. I'm calling it Operation Introduction.  It's simple, I am going to find someone new to introduce my special someone with ASD to in my community every day!  If I'm out with Nick, someone new is going to meet him and know he's a person, a person worth caring about, worth being aware of!

If you're inspired to join in Post, Video, Blog, Tweet OPERATION INTRODUCTION and let's see what we can do.

I've got nothing to lose...hope to meet you too!!

Your Child with Autism is at Risk of Being Fatally Shot

"I live in fear of the reality, that should my 16 year old son encounter the police, statistically he will end up brutalized or dead.  

I'm scared to death at how easily my son could be killed by police. As a young black man he's in danger because statistically the police are already looking for him, many don't value his life and are suspicious of his every move. I live in fear of the reality, that should my 16 year old son encounter the police, he will end up brutalized or dead. 

He is in danger because of how he looks and because his diagnosis makes it impossible for him to respond typically in social situations. When a stranger, even a police officer yells, "STOP" or "GET ON THE GROUND" or "PUT YOUR HANDS UP" Nick's not going to get it - which will be interpreted by police as defiance, which will be met with violence, potentially lethal violence. 

Nick could just be walking down the street, sitting in a car, looking at toys in the baby section, talking to himself in the park and all it would talk would be for a police officer to think he looks suspicious, or have gotten a call about a crime committed by a person described as "a black male in jeans a T-shirt" and my son could easily end up dead.  My son would not respond typically to their verbal commands, he might begin making sudden movements or even run (not from them, just because he runs) triggering a message in the the officers mind that he's a threat, and it's over. My innocent son is the victim of a violent crime committed by those we relied on to protect him. 

Our sons with ASD and the Police are dangerous mix, no matter what color or neighborhood you live in. Yes, our African American and Hispanic boys are statistically in the most danger, and they're not the only ones in danger all of our boys are. We have to move toward policy change in the country when it comes to policing, to protect our kids, our communities and the police who are on the job for the right reasons doing the right thing. 

The hope for our children is police reform and community awareness. Please let's all introduce our kids to as many people in our neighborhood as we can - a stranger may save their life.