Piece by piece: Autism Awareness Month resonates with volunteers in Indiana city

Published 4:03 pm Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Trees lining streets in a northern Indiana city are decked out with puzzle pieces in recognition of Autism Awareness Month, which lasts through the end of April.

High school students in Logansport, about 90 miles north of Indianapolis, and employees of a local agency serving clients with developmental disabilities hung the puzzle pieces over the weekend. They hope it will encourage others to be understanding when they interact with people exhibiting those behaviors.

“A lot of people just sort of pass people off with autism sometimes as just maybe a little too different and they don’t really understand what’s behind that person,” said Greg Packard, director of marketing for Peak Community Services — an organization that provides aid and social services to those on the autism spectrum.

Packard’s stake in raising awareness of the disease is personal as well as professional — he has a son on the autism spectrum.

“We need to turn the mentality we have around to more of an understanding mentality,” he said. “They’re just people like you and me. They deserve that respect, so I think if we bring about a little more awareness, it’s going to help with those types of situations.”

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, comes with “significant social, communication and behavioral challenges,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among them are trouble relating to others, avoiding eye contact, a desire for being alone, lack of empathy and repeating phrases and gestures.

The ornaments decorating trees along streets in Logansport are meant to remind people of the Autism Awareness Ribbon, a logo made up of puzzle pieces to reflect the complexity of the disorder, according to the Autism Society of America’s website.

Members of Berry Buddies, a Logansport High School club that connects general education students with special needs students, helped out as well.

Emily Harmon, 15, has a younger brother with ASD.

“I don’t like how people treat him differently, so I just want people to understand that he’s not much different, he just acts different sometimes,” she told the Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Tribune.

Parker Wilburn, 15, has a younger brother with ASD as well.

“I just want to create a better future for him and kids with all disabilities alike,” he said. “I just think we need to spread awareness for kids like him.”

Grace Davis, 16, joined her classmates Saturday.

“It’s an important thing to know about because you see kids acting different than you in the hallways, and you don’t always know their situation, so it’s an important thing to know about that so you don’t treat them any different,” she said. “They’re not different. It’s just a disability. So they’re not really different than us.”

About one percent of the world’s population — roughly 74 million people — is estimated to suffer from ASD. Its incidence in U.S. children has increased dramatically in the last two decades, more than doubling from 1 in 150 births in 2000 to 1 in 68 births in 2014, according to the CDC.

Jaclyn Kalita directs a learning center for autistic children that recently closed its doors due to an inability to recruit enough qualified staff. She and other local advocates promise to continue pursuing educational and social opportunities for those on the autism spectrum.

“I think it’s really important for people to understand people with autism may need some extra learning opportunities to learn how to function in a regular classroom or at home,” she said.

The earlier the diagnosis, the better, she continued, adding if they start getting those extra learning opportunities at a young age, they’ll have more time to learn them.

Dunlap and Kirk write for the Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Tribune.