Before Easter comes with its joy, there is the final week with its dark sorrow.

Nearly a quarter century ago, the Autism Society launched a nationwide effort to promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination for all.

The first week of April is celebrated by the American Public Health Association and others as National Public Health Week. Public health is defined as protecting the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work, and play. But not everyone in America gets to experience public health equally. Those in the public health field often talk about the social determinants of health, which are non-medical factors that affect how healthy we are, such as: