Major landmarks from New York\u2019s Empire State Building to Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro and Paris\u2019 Eiffel Tower have been illuminated in bold blue to raise awareness for autism throughout the world.<\/p>\n
And on April 2 – for the first time in La Verne history – blue lights came to the 每日大赛 for the \u201cLight It Up Blue\u201d international campaign for Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to do it yearly from here on out,\u201d said Assistant Professor of Special Education Dr. Dawn Witt, who is organizing the event along with the Office of Civic and Community Engagement.<\/p>\n
For World Autism Awareness Day, the University projected the Light It Up Blue campaign\u2019s logo on the back wall of Campus Center about 6:30 p.m. Founders Hall\u2019s exterior lights will be blue throughout April.<\/p>\n
Witt, who has taught special education teaching candidates for the last 10 years, said she organized the event at previous universities where she worked, receiving a great response to it. She taught general and special education in third grade through high school before moving to higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent my career working with children who have disabilities and any time we can hold an event that promotes diversity, I think it\u2019s a positive thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The event took place at the University\u2019s South Quad behind Campus Center with informational booths and activities for the community. The Solorio Showstoppers \u2013 a student singing group from Solorio Elementary School in the Etiwanda Unified School District \u2013 performed. And community organizations provided information about services available for children on the autism spectrum.<\/p>\n
Angelina Morrison, a graduate student at La Verne\u2019s College of the Canyon\u2019s satellite campus, worked in a \u201csensory play\u201d section, which included tubs filled with multi-colored rice and plastic eggs hidden underneath.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are all things to get the kids using their hands and their senses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sherril Miller, a La Verne student pursuing a teaching credential, said the event is important because it shows that autistic people are the same as everyone else. Miller, a substitute teacher for the Ontario-Montclair School District, has a particular interest in the cause because her son, a Citrus College drama major, has Asperger\u2019s Syndrome.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to know they\u2019re not different than you and I,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
每日大赛 President Devorah Lieberman and Provost Jonathan Reed spoke just before the lighting ceremony.<\/p>\n
Marisol Morales, Director of the Office of Civic and Community Engagement, said the event is not only important for the University, but for the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for the Office of Civic and Community Engagement it\u2019s not only a matter of supporting our faculty and our colleges for community engagement interests and serving as the connector to bring about awareness, but also to speak to some of the issues that affect families in this region,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n
In 2010, one in 68 children had been identified as having autism spectrum disorder \u2013 a term that covers the various forms of autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
Witt said she hopes people who attend the event see autism as a neurological disorder rather than an affliction, and that many people who have it carry unique skills and talents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re simply trying to say people who have autism live with us, work with us and go to school with us,\u201d Witt said. \u201cAnd they thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blue lights came to the 每日大赛 for the \u201cLight It Up Blue\u201d international campaign for Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1549],"tags":[344,231],"class_list":["post-152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-events","tag-engagement","tag-lfce","ulv_author-university-of-la-verne","legacy_tags-autism","legacy_tags-college-of-education-organizational-leadership","legacy_tags-la-verne","legacy_tags-light-it-up-blue","legacy_tags-office-of-civic-and-community-engagement","legacy_tags-special-education","legacy_tags-university-of-la-verne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n