Autism Awareness Walk in Kiowa Easter weekend, Saturday morning at Progress Park
Food trucks, BBQ, games and more open to the public
March 24, 2021
Start your Easter weekend off with some fun outdoor entertainment, yummy food and help bring awareness to a not-so-familiar disorder, autism. Come to Progress Park in Kiowa, Kansas, the morning of Saturday, April 3, from 9 to noon.
The Autism Awareness Walk starts at 9 a.m. at Progress Park. Walkers will head south toward downtown and the south water tower, come back by the elementary school and return to the park. It's a total of about a 2.3 mile walk. You don't have to walk to join in the fun at the park beginning about 10 a.m.
You'll hear NWOSU senior Lane Haas sing and play guitar with his Red Dirt Rock and Roll sound. A Coldwater native, Haas continues to perform with his band and sometimes solo as he does throughout Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas as he continues to pursue his musical career. He'll graduate this spring with an ag/business degree. Haas said his new album comes out May 1 and can be downloaded on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Anyone who attended the 2019 Kiowa District Healthcare Jeans and Gems fundraiser, will likely remember what a hit Haas was as he performed that night.
Come to the park hungry as there with be a food truck featuring BBQ and all-American favorites hamburgers and hotdogs. There will be face painting and games.
Even if you just plan on heading to the park for the Easter Egg Hunt at 2 p.m., followed by bike races, come early to eat at the food trucks and hear Haas perform. It'll be a fun family outing.
The park event highlights Autism Awareness Month. William and Tammy Israel organized the walk, as their almost 12-year-old daughter Cherokee is autistic. She is a sixth grader at South Barber.
The purpose of Autism Awareness Month is to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change of this disease that remains very misunderstood by most. Autism is a complex mental condition and developmental disability, characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates and interacts with other people. Autism can be be present from birth or form during early childhood (typically within the first three years). Autism is a lifelong developmental disability with no single known cause. People with autism are classed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the terms autism and ASD are often used interchangeably. Those with autism have a set of symptoms unique to themselves – no two people are the same.
In the United States, autism affects 1 in every 110 children. Israel said at age 3 their daughter Cherokee was still not walking or developing as she should. Doctors determined she had autism. He understood the disorder causes social awkwardness so Cherokee's parents made sure they took her to the park or mall to playgrounds nearly daily so she could interact with other children. They were living in Wichita and in 2020 with Covid restrictions, Israel said they had to move. They moved to Kiowa last summer. The Israels together have six children, three adults and three school age. “They have some really good school teachers here,” Israel said of South Barber USD#255.
Israel said this event is NOT a fundraiser this year. He's working on making a non-profit to support Autism Awareness, but said it is not yet ready.
The Israels live in the country and he said they enjoy having a variety of animals – goats, pigs and a monkey named Djibouti.
The Autism Awareness Ribbon has a puzzle pattern that reflects the complexity of the autism spectrum. The various colors and shapes represent the diversity of the people and families living with the condition. The bright colors of the ribbon signals hope – hope that through increased awareness of autism, and through early intervention and access to appropriate services/supports, people with autism will lead full lives able to interact with the world on the own terms.
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