To the parents of a child, or children, on the autism spectrum, or to those on the spectrum themselves, every day is in Autism Awareness Month. To those who know someone on the spectrum, either as a friend, co-worker, or relative, every day is in Autism Awareness Month. To those who advocate on behalf of, and for, those on the spectrum - to the professionals who work day in and day out with those on the spectrum, especially the teachers who teach those on the spectrum - every day is in Autism Awareness Month. However, today, April 30th, 2008, is the last day of Autism Awareness Month for this year for the majority of Americans. This I want to ask you - are you more aware than you were on April 1, 2008?

I am more aware, as I become more aware every day, as a father of a daughter on the autism spectrum. Specifically her diagnosis is Asperger's Syndrome, a form of/cousin to autism, depending on which expert you ask (It now has it's own listing in the DSM-IV, but is seperated from HFA - High Functioning Autism, by merely "when did the child begin to speak?" - that's the sole difference between the two, medically speaking). As a professional filmmaker - I have that Steve Martin in "The Jerk" ("The new phone book's here, the new phone book's here - I'm somebody now!") distinction of being listed on http://www.iMBD.com, for those who might want to look me (Todd Kennedy Mattson) up for fun. I am now in production on my second feature documentary film, a personal story about my daughter, entitled "One In A Million", a play on words of the autism statistic of "1 in 150". I will be touring the feature across the country in the spring of 2009 (almost fifty cities across the continental US), in conjunction with, and including, Autism Awareness Month 2009.  read more »