This is and always will be a blog about beer, wine, spirits, and other drinks, as well as the places to drink them in Cincinnati. However, Autism has become an important part of my life as my wife has been a teacher for children with autism for over 8 years now. So when I saw that Arthur’s Cafe was doing a special charity event involving one of Cincinnati’s newest breweries, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to talk about Autism and beer! First I’ll let Arthur’s speak for themselves, via their Facebook page:
Since April is Autism Awareness month, we decided to team back up with the guys over at MadTree to do another charity event to help raise money for the cause. April 9th we will be having a Madtree Pint Nigt to benefit the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati. Like before, $1 from every MadTree beer sold will go to the cause. We will be featuring PsycHOPathy IPA, Happy Amber, Gnarly Brown, and Sprye! We will also be selling MadTree Pints and snifters for $5 ea. A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to the charity. We hope to see you all here to help make a difference and enjoy some fantastic local beer at the same time!
We’ve talked a fair bit about MadTree in the past (all our articles on them) and our fellow local blogger Brew Prof did a great write up about their brewery and their cans. So I want to tell folks a bit more about Autism.
I am no expert. I’m only the husband of someone who passionately cares about autism. Also, as you’ve seen with beer, when I get interested in something, I do a fair bit of digging into the subject to learn more about it. First thing to know is that autism is a big spectrum of “pervasive developmental disorders”. People affected with Autism vary widely in their ability to dress/feed themselves, talk, appropriate behavior, and getting social queues. Which is to say that individuals may simply struggle making friends while other can’t/don’t talk and have to wear adult diapers. Some people with autism can be very successful, like Ari Ne’eman the Obama administration’s appointee to the National Council on Disability and co-founder of the Autsitic Self Advocacy Network, and a very small percentage are like Kim Peek (the real guy that Dustin Hoffman played in RainMan). A lot of people still need our help with jobs, housing, and research money but also, perhaps most importantly, with acceptance.
Here are some sadly sobering statistics for Autism [provided by my wife]:
- Autism affects every 1 out of 55 children (most recent statistic)
- Austim Spectrum Disorder is 5 times more common to be diagnosed in boys than girls
- Parents spend on average $3,000/per year more on medical expenses for autistic kids vs. typically developing kids
- Intensive behavioral therapy costs an upward so of $40,000 dollars per year
This sounds like it’s gonna be a great night for a great charity. Arthur’s actually does a charity night like this almost every month and Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati is an excellent charity to be donating to that “is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with autism and their families.” So please try to make it out to Arthur’s tomorrow night (4/9/13) and have a pint of MadTree with me! If you can’t make it please still think about donating to the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati or the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
BrewMinds 