World Autism Awareness Day 2016 celebrated across the world

The World Autism Awareness Day 2016 was celebrated across the world on 2 April 2016. The 2016 theme for the day is Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity.
•    World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognised day, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about children with autism throughout the world.
•    It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/139. World Autism Awareness Day passed in council on 1 November 2007 and adopted on 18 December 2007.
•    This resolution was passed and adopted without a vote in the UN General Assembly, mainly as a supplement to previous UN initiatives to improve human rights.
•    World Autism Day is also one of only four official health-specific UN Days.
•    This year’s observance will look ahead to 2030 and reflect on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their implications for improving the lives of people with autism.
•    2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Persons with Disabilities
•    In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ambitious new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 SDGs and 169 targets that promise to leave no one behind.
•    While all SDGs are universally applicable, disability and persons with disabilities are explicitly referenced in the following goals:  4) Quality Education; 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth; 10) Reduced Inequalities; 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities; and 17) Partnerships for the Goals.
•    Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that manifests itself during the first three years of life.
•    It results from a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, mostly affecting children and adults in many countries irrespective of gender, race or socio-economic status.
•    Autism is characterized by impairments in social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted, repetitive behaviour, interests and activities.