Elementary school holds Third Annual Autism Walk

Ridge Park Elementary (RP) students, staff, and family members kicked off World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 with their Third Annual Autism Walk. The parade looped around the circle in front of the school twice and ended on the blacktop in the playground. Students marked the beginning of each class by carrying a large puzzle piece the children helped to decorate in honor of Autism Awareness and acceptance.

“I think the best part is when we got to see all the puzzle pieces together,” said RP third grader Autumn Scarola. “All the classes did different designs. It’s like how everybody’s the same, just in their own different ways.”

World Autism Awareness Day and the Autism Walk began a week of activities at RP that focused on acceptance. However, because the school houses the kindergarten through third grade Autism Support classes, RP students work on understanding autism and accepting differences throughout the year. The students in the Autistic Support program at RP participate with their peers during specialists, recess, lunch, parties and other subjects and events as often as possible — which gives all of the children a chance to practice acceptance.

“I think this is important, because autism is kind of like a disability. We’re all different in our own ways, but together we can just respect each other,” said RP third grader Grayson Jackowski. “I think people would be surprised to know how many kids around the world have autism.”

For the Autism Walk, the RP students, staff and families also wore blue, which is a reference to the Light It Up Blue campaign. The Light It Up Blue campaign encourages people to wear blue on World Autism Awareness Day to increase global understanding and acceptance of people with autism.