This week marked the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. 
World Autism Awareness Day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly five years ago as an annual day to draw attention to the urgent needs of people with autism around the world.
Autism is extremely common. Approximately 1 in 150 people have it . Yet it is a condition that is very often misunderstood and many people with autism across Europe still lack basic access to accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, education, employment and social inclusion.
For 5 million people in Europe who have autism, greater awareness is urgently required to enable them to live up to their full potential.
Listen to the UN Secretary General's message for WAAD 2012