A growing strategy among families of autistic children is informing the public about them so they can better understand the situation if an autistic child suffers an emotional breakdown.
On Thursday, LeHigh Valley news outlet "The Express-Times" illuminated a new variety of this model, where a family from Palmer Township, Pa., purchased a billboard ad with Autism Speaks as a sponsor.
The sign features a puzzle motif, a common symbol for autism awareness, and a photograph of Peyton Forsythe, a 3-year-old autistic boy.
Peyton's mother, Denise, first pitched the idea in January after her son's tantrum got the attention of another citizen in a local department store. The woman thought Peyton was simply misbehaving, but once Forsythe informed the fellow customer of her son's autism, the woman apologized for her previous presumption.
For Forsythe and many other parents who bring their autistic children to frequently visited places, the lack of intuition from onlookers persistently perplexes them. Forsythe contacted Autism Speaks, the largest autism advocacy organization in the country, about placing a billboard to help fellow patrons "solve the puzzle."
Forsythe spent $450 for 28 days of advertising time, believing the investment will be worthwhile if it can inform the locals of Lopatcong Township about autism and its symptoms.
The billboard emphasizes why autism remains a difficult concept to understand through the use of Peyton's picture. No clear physical benchmarks are known at this point, and individual symptoms of autism can also be found in humans without a diagnosis. Most judgments stem from physical appearance, so a tantrum or other eccentric behaviors can stump people not affected by autism who are not aware of its impact.
Since Peyton and many other autistic children appear "normal" by conventional standards established by the masses, outbursts and other quirks can be misinterpreted as a sign of poor parenting or an unruly young person.
Another sociological factor complicating communication goals are intentional gestures of cruelty. Two years ago, an Indiana mother had a sign installed in her neighborhood to alert drivers of her autistic son, who would occasionally wander off from home. Graffiti vandals hit the sign, painting a slur targeted to the mentally disabled.
However, those behaviors are not a representation of the mainstream view of autism, and billboards located in rural roads are less enticing for such hits with their size and lack of cover. A larger obstacle for families continues to be confronting stigmas that dominated discussions on autism until the 21st century. Once afraid of their status, increasing numbers of families affected by autism are "playing offense" for a disability that will remain a permanent fixture in global society.
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