April is Autism Awareness Month.

UNC’s TEACCH Autism program, now in its 43rd year, continues to be a leader in providing information, training, clinics, housing, and research to help families living with autism.

“We work with people with autism across the entire life span,” said Turner-Brown. “So we see kids as young as toddlers, and all the way through adulthood.”

Lauren Turner-Brown is the assistant director of UNC TEACCH Autism. Based at UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC TEACCH has seven outpatient clinics throughout the state.

“In each of those clinics, we provide a range of services for families,” said Turner-Brown, “including diagnostic evaluations, therapy, support groups, consulting with schools and teachers – kind of a wide range of things.”

Residential services are provided at a group home in Pittsboro for adults, where residents participate in farm work.

“And then we have a Supported Employment program in the Triangle and Triad,” said Turner-Brown,” and we work with adults with autism who need a little bit of help to stay employed.”

UNC TEACCH trains educators locally, nationally, and internationally.

The organization is also involved in various research projects. Those include determining the best early intervention strategies for parents of recently diagnosed children; and assessing adult outcomes.

Turner-Brown said that reactions from parents of newly diagnosed children run the full range of emotions. Some parents are almost relieved – for lack of a better word – that the diagnosis confirms what they already suspect.

Others have a harder time accepting the diagnosis.

“We can kind of liken it to the grief people feel when they lose someone,” said Turner-Brown, “because parents have these ideas of who their child’s going to be, and who their child may grow up to be. And they kind of have to shift that, because this diagnosis does last a lifetime.”

Turner-Brown also mentioned the Autism Society of North Carolina, which facilitates parent-to-parent support.

“It’s great to hear what professional have to say,” said Turner-Brown, “but when you hear another parent say, ‘Well, I’ve been here, what you’re saying sounds like what I went through, and this is what helped me’ – it can go a really long way.”

For example: Advice from peers can provide parents with a guide for finding the best professional services for a child with autism, from dental work to just getting a haircut.

Back in the late 1990s, one in 10,000 kids was born with autism. Now, it’s one in 68.

It’s a staggering statistic. Turner-Brown said that autism is more broadly recognized than in the past.

“Some of that increase comes from better diagnostic practice,” said Turner-Brown. “We know what we’re seeing when we look at it, and we’re more aware of autism. But that’s only a small piece of it. And we’re also diagnosing more mildly impaired people as being on the autism spectrum than we used to.”

That’s only a small part of it, though. Research is ongoing, regarding possible environmental factors, including pesticides and air pollution.

Genetic issues are also acknowledged as a factor, but that still doesn’t provide a full explanation.

If you’d like to donate to the TEACCH Autism program, you can click here.