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SALT LAKE CITY -- There may come a day soon when everyone will know someone with autism. The numbers are growing, though no one knows why. Today, parents are hoping to make a difference.
Amy Baker has two sons diagnosed with autism.
"[They were diagnosed] when they were pretty young, so we've had a few years at this," she says.
She's not in the minority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the numbers have increased from one in 150 to one in 110 children with autism. It's one in 70 boys.
"Before you know it, everyone will know someone with autism," says Baker.
April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Baker is wearing a blue puzzle piece pin on her shirt. It's the symbol for Autism Speaks, an organization for which she does volunteer work. She says people will be wearing blue or using blue lights to commemorate the day.
Thursday night, several prominent buildings -- including the Empire State Building -- turned blue.
The founders of Autism Speaks, Bob and Suzanne Wright, appeared on the TODAY Show talking about their personal connection to Autism.
"We didn't know much about autism ourselves," said Bob. "Our grandson was diagnosed with autism and we realized this would be a long difficult path, very expensive, and I couldn't believe how other people could afford to deal with this."
They started Autism Speaks five years ago to bring awareness and raise money for research.
Baker is the Utah co-chair for "Walk Now for Autism Speaks." It's an event that will be held on May 1st after the events of Autism Awareness Month in April. She is hoping to raise awareness not just to help her sons, but to help all people with autism.
"We just as a community need to know how to have them have a happy life. We need to know how to change to help them feel comfortable and accepted."
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
