PLATTSBURGH — Friends and families of the community came together to join the Autism Alliance of Northeastern New York in walking for autism awareness Saturday for the first in-person walk in three years.
“The goal is to raise awareness, but this is really about coming together and allowing families to feel included,” Lisa Briscoe, president of the Board of Autism Alliance of Northeastern New York, said.
“Going out in public with a child on the spectrum can be difficult, some people don’t understand and will stare or judge the parents, but there is no judgment here. We are celebrating togetherness.”
‘THERE IS NO JUDGMENT’
The event, which took place at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, included games and activities for the kids, food provided by food trucks Buns on the Run and Tammy’s Lunchbox, music, an ice cream truck, a bounce house and obstacle course, as well as a raffle, informational tabling from the event’s sponsors and merchandise available for purchase.
The tabling included the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country and Family Connections, Partners in Transition, Residential Resources Inc, LifePlan CCO NY, Care Design NY, Parent to Parent of NYS, Rise Center for Success; Libraries of Clinton, Essex and Franklin County Library System, BookBurgh Books, Morse Irish Dance Academy, Spectrum Art, Adirondack Helping Hands, FACE Center, Nexus, NCCI, PEF Region 7, Mcdonalds, NYS Caregiver Wellness and Respite Center and North Country Kids.
“It feels nice to be supported,” Laura Carmicheal, director of Autism Alliance of Northeastern NY, said.
“There is no explaining yourself, there is no judgment.”
April is Autism Awareness Month and usually the walk is scheduled to take place sometime during, however, due to recent weather conditions and circumstances, the Alliance had to push the walk back to May.
BACK IN-PERSON
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the walk had to be organized and held virtually in previous years, with teams creating Facebook pages and livestreaming their walks.
“This is the first (in-person) one in three years,” Briscoe said.
“We are very excited for the turn out, I think this morning we were nearing $50,000 (raised), so we are kind of expecting to surpass that by the end of today.”
SHIFTING MISSION
The monetary goal of the alliance is to raise $50,000 a year. In 2022, they raised $52,000 through their virtual event.
The Autism Alliance Walk started in 2005 as an effort to raise funds to find a cure for autism, since then, the medical, scientific and public understanding of autism has evolved.
“It was really started by parents with children on the spectrum who wanted to raise money to find a cure,” Briscoe said.
“But things have changed and we’ve become aware there is no cure and there is nothing wrong with having autism. Now, we just want to make people feel included and raise awareness.”
The walk is primarily meant to raise awareness, as well as funds to support organizations and programs in the community to better the lives of those with autism or their families.
“All the money remains local, it is put towards grants for sensory equipment, as well as other organizations and programs that can benefit those on the spectrum.” Briscoe said.
“We host conferences and workshops as well as recently, we started sponsoring events, we do one family event a month, one event for adults on the spectrum and an event for teens.”
TEAM OWEN
This year, 38 teams registered to walk, all raising anywhere between $5 and $13,000 via individual fundraising efforts.
Team Owen has remained in first place, this year raising more than $13,000.
“We started walking 8 years ago, when Owen was about 3 years old,” Karen Provost, grandmother and member of Team Owen, said.
“This year we did a spaghetti dinner at the VFW Post 1505 in Keeseville. It is amazing, just to be here for the people who need it.”
Team Owen was the number one fundraising team last year as well.
“I’d like to tell people with autism, it is not a bad thing.” Provost said.
POEM READING
During the event, Benjamin Giroux gave a reading of his poem “I am odd, I am New” to the crowd. He wrote this poem in fifth grade for a school project assigned during national poetry month.
According to his father, Ben suffered an anxiety attack the morning he was supposed to present the poem to his classmates. To encourage Ben, Sonny posted the poem to his facebook page and it eventually went viral.
The poem is now a children’s book of the same title, featuring illustrations by Roz MacLean.
“The Autism Alliance actually purchased tons of books and distributed them to libraries across the North Country,” Sonny Giroux said.
“He has won 13 awards at film festivals from Los Angeles to Japan. It’s also a song and animation. I am very proud of Ben,” Sonny said.
The event also allows families who may have a member on the spectrum to come together without worrying about the people around judging them or not understanding them.
“I am here for my son, Ben, we have come to this event every possible year we could for 16 years,” Stephen Bassett, father and member of Team for Ben, said.
“He was diagnosed at 2 years old. At first I had no idea what autism was, it was hard. Being out in public, sensory issues can occur and other people would look at me like I’m a bad parent for letting my kid get worked up. He is 19 now and kicking butt, he’s about to graduate high school, I couldn’t be more proud,” Bassett said.
Bassett and his children enjoyed a game of cornhole under the sun.
Bassett added, “Awareness is everything, the more that people know, the more accepting they can be. It is good to keep your ears and mind open.”