Autism and ASD - your stories invited

Autism, or more broadly 'autistic spectrum disorder' (ASD), describes a range of conditions that typically impede communication and social interaction skills and produce various other behavioral and physiological issues.

If you have ASD, or are parenting a child or caring for a loved one with ASD, we'd love to hear your story

ASD varies in severity from mild social awkwardness to being unable to function independently. Some people with ASD have remarkable talents in a particular field such as mathematics, art or music.

ASD is relatively common. Chances are, most people have someone with ASD among their circle of friends, family and colleagues. According to the CDC [http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsautismdata/index.html] diagnoses of ASD have been increasing in recent years with about 1 child in 68 being identified in 2010 (compared with 1 in 88 in 2008, and 1 in 110 in 2006). The reason for the increase is not known, and may be due to better identification methods.

Although life with ASD presents many challenges there is no reason why people with this condition cannot and shouldn't live full and rewarding lives.

Please help others by sharing how you or a loved one have coped - and thrived - with ASD. Please email your story to info@selfhelpsanctum.com

We regret we have no budget to pay for stories at this time but we are very happy to include author's bio and up to 3 links. Alternatively, if you prefer, we are happy to publish suitable content anonymously.