April 09, 2009 10:38 am
—
By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
Not even the wet and cold
could keep community members
from taking steps to show their
support for neighbors and friends
who have children with autism.
According to organizers, over
250 people bundled up and put
on rain gear to participate in the
first-ever 5 K run and 2-mile
walk for autism at the Clark
Sports Center on Saturday.
Lynne Watson, organizer,
said she was ``Very, very happy’’
with the turnout. She said the
goal was set at 125 people and
the outcome exceeded that so organizers
were extremely happy
that the pilot-year was such a
success.
Cooperstown was one of seven
sites, in conjunction with the
Kelberman Center at Upstate
Cerebral Palsy in Utica, kicking
off Autism Awareness Month
this past weekend. Other sites
where a walk was held include
Boonville, Halland Patent, New
Hartford, Oneida, Rome and Utica.
Kelberman spokeswoman Julie
Batson said this was the first
year the Kelberman Center has
spearheaded community efforts
in order to create more awareness
about autism. She said Cooperstown
site alone rose over
$10,000.
The goal was to raise needed
funds that will stay in the area,
said Batson. The intent is to
reach as many people as possible;
therefore, the walk took
place simultaneously at seven
sites, she added.
According to studies, the
prevalence of autism in
America has risen to one in
150 children. Batson said almost
one in 94 boys are apt
to have autism and nearly 67
children are diagnosed every
day.
``It is the fastest growing developmental
disability and has
touched most of us through a
family member, friend or neighbor,’’
said Batson.
Margaret Harmon, 9, and
friend Sophia Leski, 8, said they
were at the walk to support their
friends who attend the autism
program at Cooperstown Central
School.
Sophia’s mother, Beth, said
she hopes the Cooperstown program
can continue to exist because
she believes it really benefits
many people.
Margaret’s mother, Mary,
said the children encouraged her
to out and support the cause.
``They really wanted to come,’’
she said.
She then pointed to Laura
Harmon, 15, and said she also
provided inspiration to participate
in the walk.
``She (Laura) is a good runner
and will hopefully win the race
(5K),’’ said Mary.
While placing tickets into
plastic containers next to things
up for raffle, the two families
said they did not expect the
weather to be so cold because it
was in the 60s only a couple days
prior to the event.
Kelberman Center spokesperson
Jean Jacobson said although
organizers did not know how
many people to expect for the
first series of walks, she was not
surprised by the outcome in Cooperstown.
She said autism is on
the rise and the turnout just
shows how much others love and
are willing to support families in
their communities that have
children with autism.
``The more people you meet
the more people there are out
there that know others with autism,’’
said Jacobson.
Dr. Peter Van der Riet and
Dr. Anouk Lambers, of Cooperstown,
have a 7-year-old son
with autism. Sebastian, 7, is the
oldest of their three children and
was attending the Promise Program
at The Kelberman Center.
They said they thought the walk
was a ``great success.’’ The couple
said the walk meant so much to
all affected families with autism.
Van der Riet said the intention
of the walk was to get the
whole community together
to create awareness. He said
kids with autism look just like
any other children so when a
child has an outburst or temper
tantrum it can be very embarrassing.
If an outside observer is looking
on, he or she may think a
child with autism is just a spoiled
horrible acting kid who has lost
complete manners, said Van der
Riet.
``People look at you like you
cannot control your child or assume
you are not a good parent,’’
said Van der Riet.
Van der Riet said when he
was growing up he did not see
too many kids with autism. However,
he said autism is becoming
a growing problem and is something
people should be educated
about because these kids will be
growing up and will be around
for years to come.
When asked what kind of
challenges the family faces on a
daily basis Lambers joked and
said perhaps she should list the
things that have not been a challenge.
Lambers said sticking to a
routine is very important. Sebastian
needs slow transitions and
we need to anticipate things and
explain things thoroughly, she
explained.
``Everything takes a lot of
planning ahead of time,’’ said
Lambers.
Van der Riet said going to
community events can be a problem.
``They can be very unpredictable,’’
he said. `` We have frequently
had to pack up and
leave.’’
Other tricks of the trade include
packing a favorite snack or
toy for Sebastian, said the couple.
Sebastian is not able to speak
so it is hard for him to communicate
with us when he is feeling
sick or wants or needs something,
said Lambers.
It is hard to tell if Sebastian
needs something or if he is acting
out like a typical child might
do, said Van der Riet.
The 7-year-old is learning to
use a computer with pictures to
better communicate his thoughts.
The couple said Sebastian,
like many children with autism,
is very visually stimulated.
According to Lambers,
she and her husband began
recognizing early signs that
their little boy may have
autism when he was 18-
months-old.
By the age of 2 we really
saw red flags such as loss of
eye contact, said Lambers.
Van der Riet said finding
out Sebastian had autism
was very hard, particularly
because both he and
his wife are physicians at
Bassett Healthcare.
At first doctors thought
Sebastian might be learning
slower because we
speak two languages, said
Van der Riet.
He said since both he
and his wife are from Dutch
decent, they spoke dual
languages at home.
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