Although blue is good in any circumstance, today it carries a much greater meaning than on other days. Today, blue is the colour that symbolises support for autism. It’s deeply striking that many people still don’t realise how serious autism spectrum disorders are. That’s exactly why, even though our colour is ruby — that is, red — we decided to become part of this good cause and dressed in blue as one.
Light It Up Blue campaign and facts about autism
Why blue? Blue is the colour of communication and self-expression, one of the areas where people with autism spectrum disorder face the greatest difficulty. This year’s nationwide campaign called Light It Up Blue, launched on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day, is coordinated by the Hope for Autism Platform.
Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most serious disorders of a child’s mental development. It is a congenital disorder affecting certain brain functions, meaning that the child doesn’t understand what they see, hear and experience. Most noticeably, these people’s communication, social interaction and imagination are impaired. Autistic disorders are accompanied by specific behavioural patterns, which are sometimes mistaken for rudeness, defiance, and so on.
In the Czech Republic, around 100,000 people live with autism; worldwide, the figure is 70 million. Help for children with autism spectrum disorder is fairly common, but adults receive almost none. These are among the reasons why today we are reminded of how serious this condition is.