Today is World Autism Awareness Day with organizations around the world recognizing the occasion.
For a grade two class at Mike Mountain Horse Elementary School in Lethbridge, the day has special meaning because classmate Kieran Spooner has autism.
Class teacher, Lori Nelson says her students were very excited about the day as they wore blue and painted their faces to show their support.
Elsewhere, Dan Rugg bought blue cupcakes from Crazy Cakes to support his 7 year old son who has Asperger Syndrome. Rugg says the more education and awareness there is about autism the easier it is for people to understand the disorder.
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At Park Place Mall a display was set up to promote the day with representatives from various community organizations handing out information about autism and the resources available to families.
Behaviour Specialist and Provisional Psychologist, Helen Irwin says the day is an opportunity to get out and talk to the public about autism, answer questions and debunk stereotypes. She says typically when someone thinks of a child that has autism, they think of repetitive behaviors, such as flapping. However, she says it’s called a spectrum because it ranges from mild to severe behavior, so it can be anything from a young person who’s highly intelligent and very articulate who might focus on certain topics and not be able to get them out of their head or gets stuck in certain situations where they take people literally and don’t understand social nuances related to situations.
Autism affects about 67 million people around the world.
Another awareness event is being planned for Lethbridge on May 5th. Jump, Skip, Walk for Autism is a two or four kilometer walk at the John Martin Recreation Area in Pavan Park.
The event runs from 10 a.m. until noon with registration on site.
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