TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) — Celebrating the differences of people and raising awareness for autism is what Autism Speaks U Florida State University is doing with a virtual walk.
Since Covid-19 has forced people to stay inside and social distance, the school's walk could not happen by means of gathering together. Instead, they are asking people to take a walk around their neighborhoods.
Kaitlin Price is the president of Autism Speaks U at FSU and explained they started putting the virtual walk together a few weeks ago.
"We got to work and created a virtual walk guide for our participants," said Price. "Figured out that we could go live on our Instagram and Facebook feeds at the same time, and encourage wherever you are, to walk, ride, swim, bike."
Whatever activity you choose to do, the recommended length is 1.54 miles. Price said that is in recognition of the 1 in 54 children diagnosed as autistic.
Price added that it is still very important to engage the Tallahassee community even if the group cannot be here physically. She is also finding a silver lining in doing the walk virtually. "My neighborhood is going to come out into their driveways tomorrow at 12:15 and we're all going to wear our blue, and for my brother to be able to see that and to see it in action, he knows what I do at school, but to be able to see it here is even cooler because he can participate. So, there is a positive in the change becoming virtual."
If you'd like to learn more about Autism Speaks U Florida State University, please visit their website: https://nolecentral.dsa.fsu.edu/organization/AutismSpeaksU_FSU
