September 16, 2019 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
Several hundred people turned out for the Autism Speaks Walk at Fendley Park in Orangeville last Sunday, September 8.
It was the third year in a row the walk took place to raise funds for Autism support and research.
The event is hosted by Autism Speaks Canada.
“We have a committee with help from Autism Speaks Canada, and we’ve been planning this walk for seven months,” explained Karrie Daponte, co-ordinator of the Orangeville and area walk.
“This is the same committee from the last three years. We walk 1.5 kilometres along a trail and back again so it’s a 3 kilometre walk. The point of our walk is to bring everyone together. We have local families who have just been diagnosed and they may not know where to go. We have local vendors here they can go to for information. We want to connect and spread awareness and bring the community together. For the families they will know they’re not alone.”
Autism Speaks is an organization that advocates in both Canada and the U.S. and spends millions of dollars on research. They act as an umbrella group to assist local and regional groups.
“We are an organization that provides grants and research to other organizations,” explained Amanda Wolters, from Autisms Speaks Canada.
“Our primary goal is research. We provide funding and grants to local organizations. We fund research. We try to understand autism and what causes it in order to create individualized programming for people with autism throughout their lifespan. We are partnered with many universities including McMaster in Hamilton and York in Toronto. We fund the research. From events like this, the money comes into us and we provide research grants.”
Part of the research goes into the study of what causes autism.
“It’s a combination of genetic and environmental factors and that’s what the research is trying to figure out,” Ms. Wolters explained. “Every single person in the autism spectrum is different. There’s not one single commonality between them. That’s why it’s such a puzzling disorder.”
At this year’s walk, nine-year-old Emily Quennell was the walk ambassador. “She is the community ambassador for the Town of Orangeville,” explained Emily’s mom Alecia. “She’s going to lead the walk along with her sister and her cousin.”
Emily has what is known as a ‘high function’ level of autism, and blends in easily with friends at school.
“To most people she identifies as a very typical girl,” Alecia explained. “She seems like a regular kid. At times, after a long day at school or being part of activities, she becomes overwhelmed and struggles with emotional regulation, communication, and social interaction. She doesn’t display very typical autistic features that might be identified by folks who don’t understand autism.”
Emily cut the ribbon to officially start the walk at Fendley Park.
The goal of the Orangeville walk was to raise $24,000 for Autism Speaks Canada.