Best day ever

By Ethan Nahté

April is Autism Awareness Month. The word “autism” has seemingly become used more frequently nowadays. Perhaps because the medical community has a better understanding of it than they did even a couple of decades back.

One study reported 1 in 68 children are affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the United States — more common than childhood cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.

Matthew Stout, 15, attends Acorn High

School. He’s a polite, well-mannered teen with an active mind, lots of hobbies, and a great sense of humor. Typically, he’s all A’s and one B, but he’s scored straight A’s the previous two nine-weeks-grading periods. He’s also a percussionist in the school band. He prefers playing a trap set over individual percussion instruments.

His parents are Steven Stout, an officer with Mena Police Department, and Angela Stout, a customer service representative for Union Bank. They do not shy away from discussing either Matthew or ASD.

ASD is frequently misunderstood, in