On Wednesday April 2^nd, Cipes Pediatric Dentistry will join millions worldwide to Light It Up Blue! in honor of World Autism Awareness Day.  With the blue lights displayed at the entrance to our building we hope to raise awareness and show our support for efforts to understand and treat autism.  We feel that even one individual struggling with autism is one too many!

The Center for Disease Control recently announced that overall autism prevalence rates in the US have increased, indicating that 1 in 68 American children have been diagnosed with autism. We support Autism Speaks in their efforts to help raise awareness and further research into risk factors and therapies, and to find new ways to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders.

At Cipes Pediatric Dentistry we strive to make every child and their family feel comfortable and at ease.   We have developed picture guides for the first visit, cleanings and x-rays to help children prepare for dental visits.   We have found these guides to be especially helpful for children with special healthcare needs. You can find these picture guides on our website under “First Visit” and “What if my child is anxious or has special needs?”  The guides can be downloaded and printed for use at home prior to a child’s dental visit.

In keeping with our commitment to children who have been diagnosed with autism, we will be participating once again in ‘Walk Now for Autism Speaks’ on June 1^st.   If you would like to join our team (and get a Cipes Pediatric Dentistry t-shirt!), register at http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1086871