By Tiare Dunlap @tiaredunlap 04/29/2016 AT 01:50 PM EDT Shari Grande and her husband call the day their two-year-old son Elijah was diagnosed with autism “the day of nevers.” “His physician told us he’ll never talk, he’ll never interact, it was just one ‘never’ after the next,” Grande, 49, tells PEOPLE. Eleven years after his…
Activities for Kids with Autism: LA Walk Now for Autism Speaks – Los Angeles
One of the Most Inspiring Activities for Kids with Autism!
We were so excited to spend Saturday, April 21, 2012 with the Autism Speaks – Los Angeles community. The LA Walk Now for Autism Speaks took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
We’ve attended many activities for kids with autism over the years. The 10th annual LA Walk Now for Autism Speaks event was one of the most inspiring! Families, teams of walkers, and kids—everyone had an awesome time for a wonderful cause.
There were so many heartwarming moments at the LA Walk Now for Autism Speaks. As a parent of kids with autism, or an educator working with families of kids with autism, you can imagine. So many people coming together for such a worthy cause. And such a safe environment for all of the kids!
The day was so beautiful! Thanks to the warm Los Angeles weather.
The number of attendees was very impressive. And the fact that so many different teams came together as one community was truly heartwarming. According to the local KABC7 news station, this Walk is the largest in the country.
We loved introducing our new social learning software to new friends all day! Parents and teachers tell us that The Social Express is one of the best learning activities for kids with autism.
We displayed The Social Express on our iPads to new friends that came to our booth. It was so inspiring to watch kids and parents interact with the characters.
Jon Cornick, our President, who brought along his daughter, Sammy, said,
“Watching new friends, the kids and parents that visited our booth, using our social learning software was one of the proudest moments in my life!”
You can see lots of photos of the Walk on the Facebook page of Autism Speaks, Los Angeles. Click here: http://www.facebook.com/AutismSpeaks.LosAngeles
Also according to KABC7, the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event in Pasadena is the largest of its kind in the country. Saturday’s walk raised more than $1.5 million.
Also reported, the funds raised by the Walk are going to be used to fund research at UCLA, USC, Children’s Hospital and other Los Angeles based research organizations. You can find the complete news report by clicking here.