The month of April signifies many different things- the end of the bitter winter weather and the start of spring, the Easter holiday, and the approach of the end of another semester on Hawk Hill.
Not only is April a time for blooming flowers, and warmer weather, it also is Autisim Awareness Month. At Saint Joseph’s University the hard working students at the Kinney Center have been promoting autism awareness month by hosting a number of different events that students can attend in order to spread awareness and share love for individuals who are affected by autism.
But perhaps the most interesting way that students can participate in Autism Awareness month this year at SJU is the #BlueHairICare and #StreakBlueForAutismCampaign that his blowing up on social media.
The Kinney Center is challenging people on campus to “streak blue for autism.” There are streaking stations that will be set up in Campion during free period all month long. The BlueHairICare Campaign wants you to streak your hair and post a picture with the hashatags, as well as challenge your friends. The person you challenge can choose to post their own blue hair photo, or support individuals with autism and their families by donating to the cause at streakingforautism.com.
Devon Lavery, a junior who is a part of the Kinney SCHOLARS Program explained how the campaign began.
“Our boss, Ryan Hammond, and our hilarious tech-savvy genius Abby Large have been working together for who knows how long trying to make this campaign a reality. They recruited a team of us together to get it all started and to set the pace for the rest of campus and beyond to follow suit!” said Lavery.
Although the colors for the autism ribbon are typically red, blue, and yellow, one of the biggest organizations that is associated with Autism Awareness is Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks has launched an extremely successful and recognizable campaign known as the “light it up blue for Autism” campaign, which is why the Kinney Center has chosen to go with that color when it came to streaking hair.
There are also a number of different events taking place that students can attend all month long in order to raise awareness and learn more about Autsim, as well as events for people with Autism and their families to attend.
“This month we had tons of awesome events happening-It definitely our biggest Autism Awareness Month yet! A huge struggle individuals on the spectrum are faced with is what we call “sensory overload. They’re often times really sensitive to light, sounds, textures, etc., more so than you or me. Part of our events for the month include providing these individuals and their families with “sensory friendly” events such as a movie night or a Mass. We also have some amazing guest speakers coming to give talks to anyone who wants to come learn about some interesting topics in the ASD world,” said Lavery.
Emily Pinto, a junior here at St. Joe’s who is also a Kinney SCHOLAR explained why she felt Autism is something that students and people on campus should know more about.
“I think that it is important for people to understand Autism is everywhere and if we work together as a community to educate each other and ourselves to break away from all the stereotypes associated with autism and help people to really understand. At some point in your life you will come across a person with autism and I hope that by educating yourself you will be able to understand them and embrace them fully. Working with individuals on the spectrum has changed my life. I love sharing my experiences in the hopes that it will inspire someone else to learn more and help in some way,” said Pinto.
Pinto who has been working at the Kinney Center since summer before freshman year, is truly passionate about working with people who have autism.
“I love that working with individuals on the spectrum has taught me so much and brought me so much joy. I love that every time I try and teach them something new I end up learning something about myself. My absolute favorite part is that I get to experience these kiddos and see them laugh and smile and grow. The people that I get to meet are my favorite part, I have been blessed with getting to know so many amazing people through my work at Kinney,” said Pinto.
When asking Lavery what her hope for Autism Awareness Month and the campaign was and what effect she hoped it would have on the SJU community, she had this to say.
“I think awareness and advocacy are the two ultimate goals. I want people to see this blue streak, wonder why or what it means, then Google or check out Kinney’s website. Just making that effort to find out a little more is huge. For me, my goal is to advocate the need for awareness and acceptance and understanding. I hope that some of the people who learn more through this campaign will in turn try to advocate to the best of their abilities,” said Lavery
So be sure to get involved all month long! For dates, times and other information for our Autism Awareness Month events –check out the Kinney Center website at kinneyautism.sju.edu