AHEC promotes autism resources at Laredo library

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - Although Autism Awareness Month is coming to an end, the Area Health Education Center is reminding the community that the effort to learning more about the neurological and developmental disorder continues year-round.

On Friday, several out-of-town professionals visited the Gateway City to take part in an event that seeks to provide information about autism spectrum disorder.

Diagnosing and learning about autism can be a challenge, especially when there are limited resources.

In an effort to expand the knowledge in the Gateway City, the Area Health Education Center held its resource fair for parents.

During Friday’s annual Developmental Disabilities and Autism Fair educational resources from Baylor College of Medicine came to visit.

Local parents and children were welcomed to sit in, while they shared the latest genetic discoveries, how to improve screening methods, diagnosis and genetic discoveries.

This type of outreach first started back in 2012, AHEC and many scientific institutions like Baylor College and Texas Children’s Hospital joined forces.

This year, some of the topics that were discussed were how genetics can influence the behavior on people with autism by Dr. Daryl Scott among many others.

Veronica Orduno, a local autism advocate shares that these types of events make parents realize that their child might fall within the spectrum.

“They are going to have some characteristics, some of them are going to be non-verbal, some of them are going to be when they hear loud noises and cover their ears,” said Orduno. “They will rock, they will spin, they will line everything up you know by color, they line up their cars instead of their planes, they will turn around and spin the wheels on their vehicles. So they like to have like that type of stimulation.”

Julie Bazan, executive director of AHEC said that having these agencies speak about the importance of autism creates opportunities and hope for many in the community.

The event took place at the Joe Guerra Public Library from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

Other agencies that participated in the event were Texas A&M International University, Gateway Community Health Center and the City of Laredo Health Department.

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