BLAIR CO., Pa. (WJAC) — The Central Pennsylvania Autism Community, a nonprofit, held its annual Central PA Autism Walk and Exposition at the Blair County Convention Center on Saturday for children and parents. All this was to raise awareness about autism and a number of other conditions.
6 News spoke with the group's president about the importance of this event for affected children.
It's not exactly walking a mile in someone else's shoes — but walking in stride together is a way to deepen a community's bonds.
"This is our fourth annual walk-in expo," CPAAC President Lindsay Martsolf told 6 News. "We changed it a little bit this year. Instead of making just the walk, the boring walk, you just walk around, you know... what can we do to make it more interesting?"
She mentioned they spiced it up by inviting some more vendors, saying is their biggest fundraiser of the year.
"You can come out and just show your support for the individuals with disabilities — not just with autism, but with down syndrome, if you have an articulation delay, anything like that — you come out and you support our community," Martsolf emphasized.
There, all were welcome — because all were there to learn.
"So, having an expo this year is not just, 'Hey, you know, you may not have a brother or sister or a sibling or a child with special needs,'" she noted. "But this way, you might have a neighbor and you wanna come support them."
But at the end of the day, it's all about the kids.
"This walk has really brought the community together because we need to have events in our community for our kids," said Martsolf. "And I have a nine-year-old with autism. So, it's really personal to me."
"Plus, I'm a speech therapist. And so, I know the community, I know the educational part of it. I know what it means to be in the home and what it means to be in the community."
Martsolf told us the CPAAC holds a number of events each month. If you're interested in any of their future events or their programs, you can check out their website.
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