CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Hundreds walk in Toledo to support autism awareness, research

The Blade - 9/9/2018

Sept. 09--Michelle Head designed special shirts for her family to wear to Toledo's second annual Autism Speaks Walk.

Block letters on the back spelled out "Raidyn's Rascals" in honor of her 6-year-old son. On the front was a Dr. Seuss quote: "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

Mrs. Head said she picked that quote because it most accurately represents her son's situation.

"You can't change into what other people want you to be," she said. "That's not how you were born. You were born to be yourself."

As the walk began Sunday morning at the Huntington Center downtown, Raidyn smiled wide and shouted with excitement, waiving a blue pompom. He and 10 family members joined hundreds who showed up to walk in support of family, friends, and caregivers impacted by autism and to raise money for autism research.

VIDEO: Autism Speaks Walk, sponsored by Alpha Chi Delta

"This is pretty exciting," Mrs. Head said as she surveyed the crowd. "It makes you feel not alone."

Autism Speaks is a national advocacy and research organization that aims to bring awareness, acceptance, and understanding about autism across the globe. Its annual walks are the largest fund-raisers for the organization, said Leslie Bloom, Autism Speaks' field development manager for northern Ohio.

On Sunday morning the walk had raised $44,000 of Autism Speaks'$67,000Toledo-area fund-raising goal, but more donations were being counted during the walk and teams and individuals have until the end of the year to raise funds.

And while the fund-raising is critical to helping the organization provide services to the autism community and to pay for research, the walk also helps connect people to local resources and service providers. An informational table provided fact-sheets about Autism Speaks' research and advocacy work, as well as resources for parents or grandparents who may have questions about sending their child with autism to school or helping them transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Ms. Bloom, who is based in Cleveland, said she was excited to bring a walk to Toledo for the second year in a row to help connect people.

"We're really trying to get our information, our resources into this community so that they know what we have available for them," she said.

Dan Cummins, news and sports anchor for WTOL-TV, Channel 11, was the event's keynote speaker. He proudly wore a T-shirt that said "I love my daughter with autism" as a shout-out to his 31-year-old daughter.

"I get invited to emcee events all the time, and every once in a while one strikes home," he said. "There are so many people touched by autism now. When you come to events like this, everybody realizes we are not alone. I see people I know and didn't know they have a child with autism. We're all connected by that."

Ms. Bloom described the walk as a celebration of what is an increasingly large support network. Last year's inaugural walk brought a crowd of about 600, and even with rain that kept the walk inside this year she estimated about 800 or so showed up on Sunday.

Toledoan Idelisse Rivera helped organize about 25 of her friends and family into Team Latino to raise money and walk for a cause close to her heart.

"We have to support our friends and family," she said. "I think this is so important for the whole autism community."

Contact Sarah Elms at selms@theblade.com, 419-724-6103, or on Twitter @BySarahElms.

Guidelines: Please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Comments that violate these standards, or our privacy statement or visitor's agreement, are subject to being removed and commenters are subject to being banned. To post comments, you must be a registered user on toledoblade.com. To find out more, please visit the FAQ.

___

(c)2018 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)

Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.