Autism. To most people it is just another disease, but to a growing number of families across the world, autism is becoming a reality. Although we hear and see autism’s rising prevalence in the news and researchers’ increasing efforts to find a cure, most do not realize that a child is diagnosed with autism every 20 minutes.

Think about one class period and how those 50 minutes seem to drag on. In those 50 minutes, two families found out that their children are autistic and their lives are going to be changed forever.

I knew about autism. I took AP Psychology in high school and learned the basics, but I never fully realized the impact having a child with autism has on a family until my best friend’s little brother was diagnosed last year.

Like some children with autism, Nathan missed a lot of his speech development benchmarks and had a hard time communicating with others. At the age of three, he was able to speak two- or three-word sentences, which, even though low for his age, was extremely exciting. He was able to do this because of the support of his family and the therapies they worked hard to find.

Compared to other lifetime disorders, not much is known about autism and the proper treatment. Because of this, my friend’s parents spent hundreds of dollars having multiple tests taken on their son and even still his diagnosis of autism was unsure for awhile. Knowing that something was wrong with Nathan, but having no idea what it was, was disheartening and stressful for the whole family.

Once the diagnosis was completely confirmed, my friend’s parents found their son help; however, there wasn’t much support for them. They talked to as many therapists as they could and tried to understand how they could best help their child, but there wasn’t a very big community where they could talk to other parents and get advice.

As a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority at Marquette, I’m proud to help support our philanthropy, Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an organization that not only helps to raise money and awareness for autism, but it also helps to provide extensive support for families of children with autism. Not only does Autism Speaks provide families with the information they need to help find their child help, but it also creates social networks where families can connect with other families in similar situations.

In honor of Autism Awareness month, this week, members of Alpha Xi Delta are passing out blue ribbons with facts about autism. Our goal is to have every student on campus aware of what these ribbons stand for. We are also holding an all-you-can-eat waffle breakfast from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, in the 2040 Lofts. Tickets are $5 and can be pre-purchased from members of Alpha Xi Delta throughout this week or bought at the door the day of the event.

Please support Alpha Xi Delta in our efforts to raise money and awareness for autism. Help us be the difference in the lives of people and families with autism.

Jennifer Norenberg is a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences