World Autism Awareness Day will be marked in Williams Lake with a Walk for Autism on Saturday, April 2.
The three- to five-kilometer walk will start at 11 a.m. from the Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Centre on Second Avenue, says event co-ordinator Florence Gonyer.
The walk will finish up back at the CDC with refreshments and activities for children, says Gonyer.
Gonyer is the aboriginal supported child development worker for the Cariboo Chilcotin Metis Association and co-ordinator of the autism and other related disabilities parent support group. She encourages families, friends, teachers, service providers and all those who have a child in their life with a developmental disorder to participate in the event.
“In previous years we held video presentations in October which is Autism Awareness Month in Canada, but this year we decided to get active with our awareness campaign and have a “Walk for Autism,” Gonyer says.
“The walk is a worldwide event celebrating World Autism Month, in which there are walks and fundraisers happening all over the world.”
She says there are no universal guides to autism as there are countless different degrees of autism and different kinds of autism spectrum disorders.
“To truly get a universal understanding of autism, you would have to talk to thousands of individuals and families,” Gonyer says. “All Canadians with autism spectrum disorders are unique individuals with different strengths, skills, abilities and needs.”
For more information contact Florence Gonyer at flogo_7@hotmail.com or Leah Volkmann at sldmdvol@telus.net.
