About autism and ‘Piece by Piece’
Autism is a neurological disorder, usually diagnosed at a young age, that affects development of social and communication skills.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects 1 in every 110 children, or more than 1.5 million Americans.
Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning it affects people in many different ways. Some people with autism are non-verbal or have difficulty in social situations. But others speak normally, and most would never expect that they have autism. There are also many different characteristics of autism in between.
Autism not only affects those diagnosed, but their parents, siblings, doctors, aides and peers as well.
It is an extremely complex disorder with no singular diagnosis and no over-arching treatment. And there is no known cure.
However, one thing is certain — people within the autism community are the best sources for beginning to understand autism – piece by piece. That is why this project by Western iMedia at Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting is dedicated to telling their stories.
Starting in early April 2010, the collaborative journalists of Western iMedia are posting to this site multimedia profiles of a wide range of people living with the effects of autism. The technology being used - a digital collage environment made available by VuVox - allows each profile to combine and make the best use of the most effective media for telling each individual story. In addition, this site serves as a hub connecting many other media and outlets being used in the project, from newspaper articles and radio spots to TV stories, user-contributed content and the related Twitter and Facebook communities.
New material will appear regularly, so please check back often. Also, consider adding your comments to any of the pieces that particularly connect with you. And of course feel free to repost, retweet, follow, subscribe, forward and otherwise spread the word.
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