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C.A.R.S. Brazil hosts walk in honor of World Autism Month
One of the most forgotten and under-celebrated aspects of any region is its special needs community.
Often marginalized and underutilized, individuals on the autism spectrum have the same emotions, feelings, and even pains, as anyone else.
And though the month of April recognizes these individuals in many forms — National Autism Awareness Month, Autism Acceptance Month, and World Autism Day — one thing is certain, Child Adult Resource Services (C.A.R.S.) Program Assistant Kia Head said.
“We’re here. Don’t forget us.”
In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, more than a dozen individuals and C.A.R.S. staff gathered at the Clay County Courthouse, to go for a stroll down National Avenue, with the goal of raising awareness for all who pass by.
Hoisting large, hand-painted signs, balloons and friendly waves, these individuals marched west through downtown Brazil Monday morning to a host of car horns and well-wishers from businesses on National Avenue.
“With [Sunday] being National Autism Awareness Day, we kind of wanted to bring awareness to autism, itself, and to get everybody active and out with the great weather,” C.A.R.S. Program Director and special needs advocate MaKayla Arney said. “We’re a great resource for the community. Our staff and families we work with constantly — we cannot do what we do without them.”
Sunday, April 2 marked National Autism Awareness Day, officially declared in 2007 by the United Nations. The entire month of April was also included, with the international body citing “the need to improve the quality of life for those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an intergral part of society,” according to www.un.org.
Wide though the spectrum may be, Arney says the month is about each and every “individual,” a keyword which is gaining traction following centuries of confusion and mistreatment of individuals with disabilities.
“It’s about love, and the inclusion of it all. We’re one big family, and we want to make sure everybody is taken care of, and heard,” Arney said.
Assistant Programer Head said another key component of the special needs community in today’s world concerns the public’s view of them.
“This gives them the opportunity to say, “We’re here; we exist.” Because, so often, they are just kind of swept under the rug,” Head said. “People don’t realize that they have needs, wants and desires, just like everyone else.”
The group, some 20 strong, made the walk west down National Avenue to their day-time C.A.R.S. facility.
According to Autism Speaks, an organization advocating year-round for the rights and awareness of those on the spectrum, one in 36 people are diagnosed with autism by the age of 4, and more than 7 million U.S. citizens have been diagnosed with the lifelong disorder.
By spreading awareness, Autism Speaks and organizations like C.A.R.S. hope to decrease the number of wanderers in the special needs community. Those who understand the situation are more likely to accurately report missing-persons cases, which affects more than 50 percent of individuals with autism.
To learn more about National Autism Awareness Day and month, visit www.autismspeaks.org.