INDIANAPOLIS — April is Autism Awareness Month.
Autism is neurological disability that impacts the normal development of a child’s brain.
One in 36 kids are diagnosed with autism in the United States.
Edmund Reese is one of those kids.
“He had speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy,” Gina Reese said. “We had no idea that he would have a cleft lip and pallet when he was born so right away, we were immersed in the medical world. He had his first surgery when he was four months old.”
Edmund Reese has been in therapy at Easterseals since he was three.
Now getting new treatment after being diagnosed with Autism in 2017.
“It makes me think differently than other people,” Edmund Reese said.
April is Autism Awareness Month, but Edmund’s mom Gina thinks “Autism Acceptance” might be a better term.
“We might be aware of it but being accepting of it means that we are open. We are opening ourselves to people who have Autism, and we are trying to understand them,” Gina Reese said.
It’s important to her people with Autism are accepted and seen as part of the community.
“You may not realize someone has autism. Maybe at work, at school or anywhere and I think it’s so important to keep the conversation going about what autism is, what it means,” Gina Reese said.
And their differences should be celebrated.
“Everyone is a little bit different, and everyone has something about them that is a strength and can be celebrated,” Gina Reese said.
How can you get involved in Autism Acceptance Month?
- Wear blue or change your outdoor lights blue for the rest of April.
- Start a fundraiser or donate to an Autism Organization
- Raise awareness on social media by posting either a personal story and facts about autism using #myautism.
-
IMPD investigating after person found dead on Indy's east side
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the 1500 block of North Arlington Avenue on reports of a person shot just after 8:30 p.m.
Indiana’s oldest Black American Legion post to close, members trying to save it
The flags that symbolize service no longer fly in front of Tillman H. Harpole American Legion Post 249, whose charter dates back to the late 1930s.
High school construction students build homes for veterans
Trade school students spent the week building several homes at the Project 57 development near Michigan Street and Holt Road. It will become a neighborhood for homeless veterans.
Indianapolis Ten-Point Coalition working to prevent violence before it starts
The group was patrolling the BP Gas Station at 29th and MLK Thursday night when group members noticed two young men with guns walk into the gas station.
