— Many know someone who has autism

April is recognized as National Autism Awareness Month. This month provides a special opportunity for individuals and agencies like Bona Vista Programs to educate others about autism. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder. Many of us know somebody who has autism, whether we are aware of it or not. During the month of April, consider the following tips from Indiana’s Autism Leadership Network on interacting with peers who are on the autism spectrum:

• Use literal, concise instructions. Avoid sarcastic phrases that can be misunderstood.

• Approach the person quietly from the side to avoid startling them. Their peripheral vision is well-tuned, and this gives them time to process the information that tells them you are approaching.

• Use a calm tone of voice when speaking.

• Give the person plenty of time to respond to a question before asking it again.

• Know the person’s signs of anxiety and stress. These could include pacing, hand-wringing, mumbling and more. Approach the person with a supportive attitude when these signs are being displayed.

Bona Vista offers programs to help those with autism spectrum disorder. Bona Vista has a special education half-day preschool which serves children ages 3 to 5. All classes are developed by Indiana-licensed teachers and instructional assistants.

Children attend Monday through Friday, and their time is focused on many areas of skills development. Many children who attend the Special Education Preschool also receive on-site group and individual therapy through our Positive Results for Kids division. All classes offer integrated programming and public school coordination.

To learn more, call Keys for Kids in Kokomo at 765-457-8273 or Keys for Kids in Peru at 765-473-6744. Online registration is also available at www.bonavista.org. You can also schedule a tour at any time to learn about all the great things that Bona Vista does in the community by calling 765-457-8273.

Brittnee Burton

Bona Vista Programs

Following Mexico

to the poor house

During the administration of Carlos Salinas (1988 -1994), more than 1,000 state-run companies, including metal foundries, railroads and communications firms were sold off to the richest Mexicans, including Carlos Slim, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world. Private sector monopolies were created, benefiting the ultra wealthy and politicians, while leaving the average Mexican out in the cold.

Out in the cold – pushing more Mexicans into poverty, more going hungry, more going without, resulting in a migration north to survive.

Two of the companies, Telefonos de Mexico and TV Azteca, government-owned and privatized, ended up monopolies charging consumers anything they chose, extracting every last peso.

A cable from the U.S. embassy in Mexico to the National Security Council mentions that the concentration of wealth and economic power by businesses cannot be ignored “because many of these individuals control monopolies and oligopolies that hold back economic growth.” That’s right, these privatized companies “hold back economic growth.”

As the richest in Mexico become wealthier through privatization, more Mexicans slipped into poverty. Although the numbers are difficult to obtain, between 2006 and 2008, according to Consejo Nacional de Evaluacion de la Politica (National Council for the Evaluation of Social Policy), the poverty rate increased from 42.6 percent to 47.4 percent, which in absolute terms corresponds to an increase of 6 million people for a total of 44 million Mexicans in poverty.

There is hope in the form of aid from the United States. Every year remittances totaling more than $20 billion are sent by relatives to relatives in Mexico. That leaves Americans to pay for poverty created by Mexican privatization with a loss of American jobs and wages to the tune of $20 billion, while the richest Mexicans become the end benefactors of all those billions.

Some in America want to follow the Mexican plan of privatization, transferring billions to the wealthiest Americans. Just like our neighbors down south, left out in the cold by selling off portions of their government, privatization of Social Security, Medicare and possibly even the post office will leave millions of Americans out in the cold.

What then? Guess we’ll need to march north to Canada, get a job and remit to our struggling, impoverished American relatives. Only problem is, with the poverty level rising in the United States, you’ll have a million Mexicans following you into Canada.

Larry Brooks

Kokomo