Autism Month at UNA

FLORENCE– With her committee, Magdalena Lira organized a fantastic fundraising event, in Flowers Hall at UNA, for the community of families living in the Florence area whose children have been diagnosed with Autism.

April is Autism Awareness Month and every year the Autism Society of Alabama, which exist to improve services for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families through education and advocacy, hosts a walk in a different city throughout the month of April, with this weekend consisting of walks in Lineville, Cullman, and the Florence Area.

Magdalena Lira, Organizer

In an interview with the Quad-Cities Daily, Magdalena expressed her intense joy at the success of the event, “From our pockets we have only spent about $100 for this event, everything else has been donated by the community.”

Magdalena and her Committee have been organizing this event for the past five months; Magdalena also said that they might even consider starting their planning the event for next year as soon as September.

The Center for Disease Control reports that 1 in 88 people have autism. Given this increased rate, autism will soon become the most common disability in the United States. Alabama has as many as 45,000 individuals on the autism spectrum.

“I have a five year old son (Alexander) with Autism, but through early intervention he has made amazing leaps and bounds. Early intervention is the key.” Says Magdalena.

According to the National Autism Association, one method of early intervention is Developmental Screening. This is a short test to tell if children are learning basic skills when they should, or if they might have delays. In having this early intervention it may be possible to plan ahead in order to give a child with Autism the resources necessary to aid them in their development.

All of the proceeds raised at this event will be going to the Autism Society of Alabama, which provides scholarships for families who may not have the resources to help their children, to do so. One such resource being Camp ASCAA which is Alabama’s Special Camp for Children and Adults. ASCCA is a nationally recognized leader in therapeutic recreation for children and adults with both physical and intellectual disabilities.