2 April: World Autism Day

(2 Apr 09 - RV) Today is World Autism Day. Autism is a little understood brain development disorder that appears with varying degrees of severity in children before they reach the age of 3, impeding the development of communication skills and the ability to function socially. The costs of diagnosing, treating and managing autism can run into the millions of dollars per individual. The executive director of the Irish Society for Autism, Pat Matthews told us the number of autism cases worldwide has risen dramatically in recent years…