From the Sidney Opera House to the Empire State Building in New York, passing through Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, on April 2 the most emblematic buildings worldwide will be painted in blue to celebrate 'World Autism Awareness Day’. 

Designated by the United Nations in 1997, ‘World Autism Awareness Day’ (celebrated in the month dedicated to autism) is a time to remember and alert the population on the existence of an illness which one of its worst enemies is its delayed diagnosis. At times this disorder can be detected at the age of 18 months or even, normally when the child turns two years old, the diagnosis can be considered quite reliable, though many times the final diagnosis cannot be provided until many years later, which delays its treatment. This is a problem especially registered in the case of Latino children, who can experience a delay of up to 2.5 years in detecting the disorder, compared with non-Latinos.

According to data from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 68 children suffers an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), an ailment affecting communication and social interaction, among others.