Over 60 people walked a 1-mile loop around Sokol Park in the annual Walk for Autism on Saturday. The event was organized by Autism Support of Alabama.
“I did the walk this year for the first time with my sons and daughter to support my grandson Zion, who has autism,” said Pierre Nunn Sr., one of the participants. “I think it is important to bring awareness to autism and children and adults that are diagnosed with autism, and we try to support activities our grandkids do.”
Proceeds from the walk went towards ASA programs and other services supporting those affected by autism.
Marty Gust, a member of professor Susan White’s psychology lab at the University, was asked by the Autism Support of Alabama to co-chair the event. He said he had personal reasons for helping out.
“I have family members who have autism, and I help with this event to support the people in my family and give people around Tuscaloosa a chance to raise awareness,” Gust said. “We have a resource fair with a bunch of local businesses and local places that support autism in many different ways.”
Some of the organizations at the event were United Way, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the CrossingPoints program.
Izzy White, a CrossingPoints mentor, said she attends classes, study halls, sporting events and other activities with CrossingPoints students.
“We focus on moving away from autism awareness and more towards autism acceptance,” she said. “The CrossingPoints program is a program on campus that serves students with intellectual disabilities as they experience college, just like anyone else.”
Allison Davis, a project manager with Autism Support of Alabama, said she has been working on the Autism Friendly Alabama website, which uses geolocation to identify businesses trained in autism awareness. She also conducts police education, providing officers with Autism Sensory Kits backpacks that have resources for people with autism such as sensory toys, sunglasses and fidgets.
“Sometimes in autism, the ability to process speech is limited, especially if there’s a lot of emotion involved,” she said. “So people with autism are more at risk for having trouble with first responders because they can’t understand and make themselves heard.”
Walk for Autism occurred in other Alabama cities like Fort Payne, Huntsville and Dothan on Saturday. Additional walks are scheduled for Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery on April 12 and 26.
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