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April is autism awareness month. Four separate walks statewide attracted 500 people to help educate the community on this disorder. Spanning from Presque Isle, to Bangor, to Farmington and Biddeford; locals gathered to share their stories.
The 12th annual statewide walk is hosted by the Autism Society of Maine. The walks help raise money for events throughout the year, like a family retreat in Standish, camp summit for kids with autism and classes for brothers and sisters of children with disabilities.
“This is our conclusion of our Autism Awareness month. We had an affair yesterday, but today is the walk. We had over 150 walkers and over 13 corporate sponsors, we have live music, a live band,” said CEO, Cassandra McDonald.
Along with the live music, there was food, games and even horses for the guests to take for a ride. McDonald says that autistic children often connect with the gentle creatures in a positive way.
“The horses especially, because animals and pets love and bond and sometime they will respond to animals when they won’t respond to humans the same way. They have some kind of communication there so it’s just awesome to have these kind of venues like this where they can come,” said McDonald.
Visitor’s walked a half mile through Putnam Park before coming back to the center to enjoy refreshments. McDonald says she plans to make this an annual event and would like to thank the community for supporting a worthy cause.
Agencies/Canadajournal
